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Should You Retain EverQuote (EVER) Stock in Your Portfolio?

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EverQuote, Inc. (EVER - Free Report) is well-poised for growth, driven by the solid performance of automotive and other insurance verticals, growth in commissions revenues, lower advertising spends and higher volume of quote requests.

Growth Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EverQuote’s 2023 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 14.3%.

Earnings Surprise History

EverQuote has a decent earnings surprise history. Its bottom line beat estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average being 24.6%.

Business Tailwinds

Revenues of EverQuote are likely to gain from the solid performance of automotive insurance providers. Revenues from automotive insurance providers accounted for 80% of the total revenues in the first half of 2022.

Non-auto insurance revenue growth is likely to gain from strong execution in the health insurance vertical and specifically from direct-to-consumer agency policy sales.

Growth in overall consumer quote requests should benefit EverQuote as it reflects the insurer’s success in generating consumer traffic and the potential to increase the share of insurance shopping consumers.

Growth in commission revenues, lower advertising spend and higher volume of quote requests will continue to drive variable marketing margin (VMM) going forward.

This multi-line insurer witnessed impressive inorganic growth. The insurer acquired PolicyFuel, LLC, and its affiliated entities in August 2021 to support its property and casualty (P&C) carrier partners. The acquisition enabled EverQuote to expand the range of products it offers to carriers and expands the market of EVER’s direct-to-consumer offerings.

PolicyFuel's policy sales-as-a-service business model is expected to provide the insurer with revenue diversity during a challenging period for the auto insurance marketplace.

EverQuote boasts a debt-free balance sheet with cash balance improving over the last three years. The insurer has $35 million available for borrowing under the revolving line of credit and $10 million available for borrowing under the term loan, each with Western Alliance Bank. EVER exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $41.3 million, which increased 18.4% from the 2021-end level.

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

EverQuote currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Year to date, the stock has lost 42.6% compared with the industry’s decline of 4.7%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the multi-line insurance industry are James River Group Holdings, Ltd. (JRVR - Free Report) , Radian Group Inc. (RDN - Free Report) and Old Republic International Corporation (ORI - Free Report) . While James River Group and Radian Group sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Old Republic International carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for James River Group’s 2022 and 2023 earnings implies 137% and 15.3% year-over-year growth, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JRVR’s 2022 and 2023 earnings has moved 2.6% and 4.6% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.  Year to date, the insurer has declined 14.3%.

Radian Group’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average earnings surprise being 29.51%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RDN’s 2022 and 2023 earnings has moved 16.1% and 4.2% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.  Year to date, the insurer has increased 6.9%.

Old Republic International’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average earnings surprise being 15.1%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ORI’s 2022 earnings has moved 4.2% north in the past 30 days. Year to date, the insurer has declined 2%.

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