Markel Group (NYSE:MKL – Get Free Report) and First American Financial (NYSE:FAF – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
77.1% of Markel Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of First American Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Markel Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of First American Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility & Risk
Markel Group has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First American Financial has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Markel Group | 13.53% | 7.16% | 1.91% |
| First American Financial | 9.33% | 13.31% | 4.14% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Markel Group and First American Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Markel Group | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| First American Financial | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2.88 |
Markel Group presently has a consensus target price of $2,025.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.43%. First American Financial has a consensus target price of $84.60, suggesting a potential upside of 15.64%. Given First American Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First American Financial is more favorable than Markel Group.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Markel Group and First American Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Markel Group | $15.51 billion | 1.44 | $2.11 billion | $181.86 | 9.90 |
| First American Financial | $7.98 billion | 0.94 | $621.80 million | $7.22 | 10.13 |
Markel Group has higher revenue and earnings than First American Financial. Markel Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First American Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
First American Financial beats Markel Group on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Markel Group
Markel Group Inc., a diverse holding company, engages in marketing and underwriting specialty insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The company offers general and professional liability, personal lines, marine and energy, specialty programs, and workers' compensation insurance products; and property coverages that include fire, allied lines, and other specialized property coverages, including catastrophe-exposed property risks, such as earthquake and wind. It also offers credit and surety products, and collateral protection insurance products. In addition, the company offers transaction, directors and officers, and healthcare liability reinsurance; and specialty treaty reinsurance products comprising credit and surety, workers' compensation, marine and energy, public entity, mortgage default, aviation and space, agriculture, and discrete political violence and national terror pools. Further, it provides construction services, consumer and building products, transportation-related products, consulting services, and equipment manufacturing products, as well as healthcare, leasing, and investment services. Additionally, the company operates as an insurance and investment fund manager offering a range of investment products, including insurance-linked securities, catastrophe bonds, insurance swaps, traditional reinsurance contracts, industry loss warranties and other financial instruments; and program services. It also manages funds with third parties. The company was formerly known as Markel Corporation and changed its name to Markel Group Inc. in May 2023. Markel Group Inc. was founded in 1930 and is based in Glen Allen, Virginia.
About First American Financial
First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Home Warranty segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services internationally. This segment also provides closing and/or escrow services; products, services, and solutions to mitigate risk or otherwise facilitate real estate transactions; and appraisals and other valuation-related products and services, lien release and document custodial services, warehouse lending services, default-related products and services, document generation services, mortgage loans subservicing, and related products and services, as well as banking, trust, and wealth management services. In addition, it accommodates tax-deferred exchanges of real estate; and maintains, manages, and provides access to title plant data and records. This segment offers its products through a network of direct operations and agents in various states and in the District of Columbia, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and internationally. The Home Warranty segment provides home warranty products, including residential service contracts that cover residential systems, such as heating and air conditioning systems, and various appliances against failures that occur as the result of normal usage during the coverage period. This segment operates in various states and the District of Columbia. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.
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