Critical Review: EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) vs. Assurant (NYSE:AIZ)

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) and EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.7% of Assurant shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.5% of EverQuote shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Assurant shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.5% of EverQuote shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Assurant and EverQuote”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Assurant	$12.81 billion	0.99	$872.70 million	$19.55	13.04
EverQuote	$692.52 million	0.98	$99.31 million	$2.94	6.42

Assurant has higher revenue and earnings than EverQuote. EverQuote is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Assurant, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Assurant and EverQuote’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Assurant	7.60%	20.32%	3.26%
EverQuote	15.35%	53.39%	38.31%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Assurant and EverQuote, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Assurant	0	1	9	0	2.90
EverQuote	0	2	6	0	2.75

Assurant presently has a consensus target price of $272.17, indicating a potential upside of 6.77%. EverQuote has a consensus target price of $24.17, indicating a potential upside of 28.00%. Given EverQuote’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe EverQuote is more favorable than Assurant.

Volatility & Risk

Assurant has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EverQuote has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Assurant beats EverQuote on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services. The Global Housing segment provides lender-placed homeowners, manufactured housing, and flood insurance; renters insurance and related products; and voluntary manufactured housing, and condominium and homeowners insurance products. The company was formerly known as Fortis, Inc. and changed its name to Assurant, Inc. in February 2004. Assurant, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About EverQuote

EverQuote, Inc. operates an online marketplace for insurance shopping in the United States. The company offers auto, home and renters, and life insurance. The company serves carriers and agents, as well as indirect distributors. The company was formerly known as AdHarmonics, Inc., and changed its name to EverQuote, Inc. in November 2014. EverQuote, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.