Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,626.83.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MKL stock opened at $1,726.23 on Monday. Markel Group has a 1-year low of $1,342.66 and a 1-year high of $1,809.11. The firm has a market cap of $22.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,694.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,611.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.97 by ($4.63). The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.03%. On average, analysts predict that Markel Group will post 86.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Markel Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MKL. SpiderRock Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Markel Group by 199.4% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 381 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Markel Group in the second quarter valued at $2,803,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 10.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,736,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Solitude Financial Services increased its position in shares of Markel Group by 43.3% during the third quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 1,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.