Shares of EverQuote, Inc. EVER have gained 1.1% year to date, outperforming its industry, the Finance sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s decline of 3.3%, 3.8% and 9.1%, respectively. 

EverQuote shares are trading below the 50-day moving average, indicating a bearish trend. 

The insurer has a market capitalization of $721.98 million. The average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.6 million. 

EVER vs. Industry, Sector, S&P YTD

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EVER Shares are Expensive 

EVER shares are trading at a premium to the industry. Its price-to-book value of 5.33X is higher than the industry average of 2.45X. However, shares of other multi-line insurers like MGIC Investment Corporation MTG, Assurant, Inc. AIZ and CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO are trading at a discount to the industry average.

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EVER’s Growth Projection Encourages 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EverQuote’s 2025 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 36.3%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $626.23 million, implying a year-over-year improvement of 25.2%. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 9% and 11.4%, respectively, from the 2025 estimates. EVER has an impressive Growth Score of A. This style score helps analyze the growth prospects of a company.  

Impressive Earnings Surprise History of EVER 

Arthur J. Gallagher’s bottom line surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 160.73%. 

Optimistic Analyst Sentiment for EVER 

Each of the six analysts covering the stock has raised estimates for 2025, and four analysts have raised the same for 2026 over the past 60 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 and 2025 moved 48.1% and 21.5% north, respectively, in the last 60 days, reflecting analyst optimism. 

EVER’s Favorable Return on Capital 

Return on equity (ROE) for the trailing 12 months was 29.1%, comparing favorably with the industry’s 15%. This reflects its efficiency in utilizing shareholders’ funds.  It envisions a long-term target of 15%. 

Return on invested capital in the trailing 12 months was 28.61%, better than the industry average of 2%, reflecting EVER’s efficiency in utilizing funds to generate income. 

Factors Favoring EverQuote 

Though a prolonged auto insurance downturn weighed on revenues, EverQuote believes it is well- poised to benefit from the normalization of auto insurance carrier demand, given auto carrier recovery. Thus, expansion into new verticals, increasing consumer traffic, higher quote request volume and innovating advertiser products and services should help EVER generate an improved top line.  

The success of EVER depends on the growth of consumer traffic, as measured by quote requests. EverQuote remains focused on increasing consumer traffic by expanding existing advertising channels and adding new channels. Over the long term, EverQuote intends to increase consumer traffic by leveraging the features and growing data assets of the platform. EverQuote also increased the number of quote requests acquired from its verified partner network. 

Lower advertising costs, coupled with growth in revenue per quote request, helped the company deliver improved variable marketing dollars (VMD), one of the primary metrics for managing business. A higher volume of quote requests and increased carrier spend will continue to drive VMD going forward. EverQuote expects the dynamics of the auto insurance market to continue to put pressure on VMM within the auto insurance vertical.  
 
Apart from the auto insurance vertical, the company expects VMD 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 VMD operating point for the business. EVER expects VMD to be between $44 million and $46 million in the first quarter of 2025, suggesting 46% year-over-year growth at the midpoint in the first quarter of 2025.  

EverQuote boasts a debt-free balance sheet with a cash balance improving over the last three years. 

Conclusion

EverQuote should continue to benefit from its exclusive data asset and technology, intensified focus on core P&C markets, streamlined operations and strong financial profile, which positions it for long-term growth.  

EVER has a VGM Score???of A. VGM Score helps identify stocks with the most attractive value, best growth and the most promising momentum. Back-tested results show that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), offer the best opportunities in the value investing space. 

Despite its premium valuation, it is better to add this Zacks Rank #1 stock for better returns. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. 

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MGIC Investment Corporation (MTG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Assurant, Inc. (AIZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report

EverQuote, Inc. (EVER) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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