Markel (NYSE:MKL) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

Posted by on Apr 12th, 2023

Markel (NYSE:MKL – Get Rating) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on MKL. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Markel from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Markel in a research report on Thursday, December 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,550.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,516.67.

Markel Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKL opened at $1,316.76 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,302.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,278.59. Markel has a fifty-two week low of $1,064.09 and a fifty-two week high of $1,519.24. The company has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Markel (NYSE:MKL – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The insurance provider reported $26.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $18.47 by $7.68. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Markel had a negative net margin of 1.83% and a positive return on equity of 7.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Markel will post 82.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner purchased 25 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,317.18 per share, with a total value of $32,929.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,465,132.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Markel

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Markel by 6.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Markel in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Somerset Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Markel in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Markel by 12.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Markel by 3.4% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,283,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 75.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Markel Company Profile

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Markel Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in underwriting specialty insurance products for a variety of niche markets. It operates through the Insurance and Reinsurance segments. The Insurance segment includes all direct business and facultative placements written within the company’s underwriting operations.

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