Reviewing Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) and Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF)

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) and Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fidelity National Financial and Markel Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fidelity National Financial	$14.98 billion	0.73	$602.00 million	$2.83	14.31
Markel Group	$15.51 billion	1.47	$2.11 billion	$140.76	13.28

Markel Group has higher revenue and earnings than Fidelity National Financial. Markel Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fidelity National Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Fidelity National Financial and Markel Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fidelity National Financial	5.03%	16.07%	1.30%
Markel Group	10.44%	7.52%	1.99%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.2% of Fidelity National Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.1% of Markel Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Fidelity National Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Markel Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Fidelity National Financial has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Markel Group has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Fidelity National Financial and Markel Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fidelity National Financial	1	2	3	0	2.33
Markel Group	1	4	0	0	1.80

Fidelity National Financial currently has a consensus target price of $54.20, indicating a potential upside of 33.79%. Markel Group has a consensus target price of $2,025.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.37%. Given Fidelity National Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fidelity National Financial is more favorable than Markel Group.

Summary

Fidelity National Financial beats Markel Group on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fidelity National Financial

Fidelity National Financial, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides various insurance products in the United States. The company operates through Title, F&G, and Corporate and Other segments. It offers title insurance, escrow, and other title related services, including trust activities, trustee sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances, and home warranty products. The company also provides technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries; and mortgage transaction services, including title-related services and facilitation of production and management of mortgage loans. In addition, it offers annuity and life insurance products, such as deferred and immediate annuities, as well as indexed universal life insurance products; and funding agreements and pension risk transfer (PRT) solutions. Further, the company engages in the real estate brokerage business. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

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.