Analyzing Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) and EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER)

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

Volatility and Risk

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Profitability

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

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

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EverQuote	$692.52 million	1.00	$99.31 million	$2.94	6.54
Assurant	$12.81 billion	0.96	$872.70 million	$19.55	12.75

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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for EverQuote and Assurant, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

EverQuote currently has a consensus price target of $24.17, suggesting a potential upside of 25.61%. Assurant has a consensus price target of $275.83, suggesting a potential upside of 10.68%. Given EverQuote’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe EverQuote is more favorable than Assurant.

Summary

Assurant beats EverQuote on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.