Contrasting Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) & Atlas Financial (OTCMKTS:AFHIF)

Atlas Financial (OTCMKTS:AFHIF) and Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

66.6% of Universal Insurance shares are held by institutional investors. 14.4% of Atlas Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.5% of Universal Insurance shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Atlas Financial and Universal Insurance’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlas Financial	$4.84 million	0.00	-$5.67 million	N/A	N/A
Universal Insurance	$1.39 billion	0.39	$66.82 million	$2.55	7.36

Universal Insurance has higher revenue and earnings than Atlas Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Atlas Financial and Universal Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlas Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Universal Insurance	5.29%	19.67%	2.66%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Atlas Financial and Universal Insurance, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlas Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
Universal Insurance	0	0	1	0	3.00

Universal Insurance has a consensus price target of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 33.26%. Given Universal Insurance’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Universal Insurance is more favorable than Atlas Financial.

Volatility & Risk

Atlas Financial has a beta of -8.37, suggesting that its share price is 937% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Insurance has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Universal Insurance beats Atlas Financial on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlas Financial

Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Anchor Group Management, Inc., engages in generating, underwriting, and servicing of commercial automobile insurance in the United States. The company's automobile insurance products provide insurance coverage in three areas, including liability, accident benefits, and physical damage. It focuses on the light commercial automobile sector, including taxi cabs, non-emergency paratransit, limousine, livery, and business autos. It distributes its insurance products through a network of independent retail agents. Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages. The company also advises on actuarial issues, oversees distribution, administers claims payments, performs policy administration and underwriting, and assists with reinsurance negotiations; places and manages reinsurance programs for the insurance entities; and operates Clovered.com, a digital agency for various carrier partners and utilization of digital applications for adjusting claims. It offers its products through a network of independent agents, as well as direct-to-consumer online solutions, including digital insurance agency. The company was formerly known as Universal Heights, Inc. and changed its name to Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. in January 2001. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.