Yahoo Finance EverQuote (EVER) Rallies 220% in a Year: What's Driving It?
EverQuote, Inc.’s EVER shares have rallied 220% over the past year compared with the industry's growth of 24.4%. The Finance sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite have risen 22% and 26.6%, respectively, in the same time frame. With a market capitalization of $745.55 million, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.49 million.
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The rally was largely driven by increasing consumer traffic, higher quote request volume, solid performance of automotive and other insurance marketplace verticals and favorable growth estimates.
This multi-line insurer carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. The company’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 65.16%.
EVER also has an impressive Growth Score of A. This style score helps analyze the growth prospects of a company.
Will the Bull Run Continue?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EverQuote’s 2024 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 103.2%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $385.39 million, implying a year-over-year improvement of 33.8%.
The consensus estimate for 2025 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 270% and 21.2%, respectively, from the corresponding 2024 estimates.
EverQuote’s top line has been increasing over the years owing to the solid performance of automotive and other insurance marketplace verticals. It remains well-poised to gain from the normalization of auto insurance carrier demand, given auto carrier recovery. It also remains focused on rapidly expanding into new verticals.
Increasing consumer traffic, higher quote request volume and innovating advertiser products and services will continue to drive revenues. EverQuote expects revenues between $100 million and $105 million in the second quarter of 2024.
The variable marketing margin (VMM) is likely to gain from declining customer acquisition costs and a shift in the revenue mix to local agent networks with higher VMMs. EVER expects the dynamics of the auto insurance market to put pressure on VMM within the auto insurance vertical. Apart from the auto insurance vertical, the company expects VMM to benefit from strong revenue growth within the health direct-to-consumer agency during the annual health open enrollment period. This is expected to drive an improvement in the VMM operating point for the business. The insurer expects VMM in the second quarter of 2024 between $31 million and $33 million.
EVER boasts a debt free balance sheet with cash balance improving over the last three years. The company aims to meet any future debt service obligations with the existing cash and cash equivalents and cash flows from operations, which are expected to be sufficient to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months, without considering liquidity available from the revolving line of credit.
In its efforts to strengthen its balance sheet and liquidity position, EverQuote modified its existing loan agreement with Western Alliance Bank. The company has a $25 million undrawn working capital line of credit with Western Alliance Bank, which is available until July 2025.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks from the insurance industry are Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated RGA, RLI Corp. RLI and NMI Holdings Inc NMIH, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Reinsurance Group has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 19.48%. In the past year, shares of RGA have jumped 44.6%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RGA’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.3% and 4.9%, respectively.
NMI Holdings’ earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 8.60%. In the past year, shares of NMIH have jumped 36.2%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NMIH’s 2024 and 2025 revenues implies year-over-year growth of 10.6% and 7.6%, respectively.
RLI’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average surprise being 132.39%. In the past year, shares of RLI have gained 1.3%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RLI’s 2024 and 2025 revenues implies year-over-year growth of 18.4% and 3.8%, respectively.
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RLI Corp. (RLI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
EverQuote, Inc. (EVER) : Free Stock Analysis Report
NMI Holdings Inc (NMIH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
