Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) & Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Head-To-Head Review

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) and Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Ryan Specialty has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Insurance has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Ryan Specialty and Universal Insurance, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ryan Specialty	1	10	8	0	2.37
Universal Insurance	0	2	0	1	2.67

Ryan Specialty presently has a consensus price target of $52.21, suggesting a potential upside of 21.84%. Universal Insurance has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.69%. Given Ryan Specialty’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ryan Specialty is more favorable than Universal Insurance.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ryan Specialty 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
Ryan Specialty	$3.05 billion	3.59	$63.40 million	$0.72	59.51
Universal Insurance	$1.60 billion	0.83	$182.95 million	$7.58	6.29

Universal Insurance has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ryan Specialty. Universal Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ryan Specialty, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ryan Specialty	7.55%	43.97%	4.78%
Universal Insurance	13.49%	37.67%	7.12%

Dividends

Ryan Specialty pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Universal Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ryan Specialty pays out 72.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Universal Insurance pays out 8.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Ryan Specialty has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Universal Insurance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

84.8% of Ryan Specialty shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.6% of Universal Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. 52.0% of Ryan Specialty shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.0% of Universal Insurance shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Ryan Specialty

Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. operates as a service provider of specialty products and solutions for insurance brokers, agents, and carriers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Singapore. It offers distribution, underwriting, product development, administration, and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter. The company serves commercial, industrial, institutional, and government sectors. Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Chicago, 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.