First American Financial (FAF) Competitors

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) and First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) are both multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, community ranking, risk, valuation, dividends and media sentiment.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, MKL or FAF?

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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Markel Group	$16.62B	1.42	$2.64B	$199.04	9.23
First American Financial	$6.13B	1.07	$131.10M	$1.25	50.75

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MKL or FAF?

Markel Group received 15 more outperform votes than First American Financial when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 60.47% of users gave First American Financial an outperform vote while only 59.24% of users gave Markel Group an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Markel Group	Outperform Votes 298 59.24%	Underperform Votes 205 40.76%
First American Financial	Outperform Votes 283 60.47%	Underperform Votes 185 39.53%

Which has more risk and volatility, MKL or FAF?

Markel Group has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First American Financial has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MKL or FAF more profitable?

Markel Group has a net margin of 16.34% compared to First American Financial's net margin of 2.14%. First American Financial's return on equity of 9.35% beat Markel Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Markel Group	16.34%	7.55%	1.99%
First American Financial	2.14%	9.35%	3.00%

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of MKL or FAF?

77.1% of Markel Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of First American Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Markel Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of First American Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer MKL or FAF?

In the previous week, Markel Group had 1 more articles in the media than First American Financial. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Markel Group and 15 mentions for First American Financial. Markel Group's average media sentiment score of 1.43 beat First American Financial's score of 0.66 indicating that Markel Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Markel Group	14 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First American Financial	5 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate MKL or FAF?

Markel Group presently has a consensus target price of $1,685.17, suggesting a potential downside of 8.30%. First American Financial has a consensus target price of $74.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.43%. Given First American Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First American Financial is more favorable than Markel Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Markel Group	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.83
First American Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Summary

First American Financial beats Markel Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.