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 superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, community ranking, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Which has better valuation and earnings, 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	$16.75B	1.42	$2.64B	$135.69	13.82
First American Financial	$6.28B	1.01	$131.10M	$1.51	40.78

Does the media refer more to MKL or FAF?

In the previous week, Markel Group had 9 more articles in the media than First American Financial. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Markel Group and 17 mentions for First American Financial. First American Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat Markel Group's score of 1.03 indicating that First American Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Markel Group	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First American Financial	10 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, MKL or FAF?

Markel Group has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First American Financial has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of First American Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate MKL or FAF?

Markel Group currently has a consensus price target of $1,702.20, indicating a potential downside of 9.26%. First American Financial has a consensus price target of $75.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.80%. Given First American Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly 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)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.80
First American Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MKL or FAF?

Markel Group received 12 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 286 60.47%	Underperform Votes 187 39.53%

Summary

First American Financial beats Markel Group on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.