Contrasting Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) & INNOVATE (NYSE:VATE)

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) and INNOVATE (NYSE:VATE) are both multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Markel Group and INNOVATE, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Markel Group	0	3	1	0	2.25
INNOVATE	0	0	0	0	0.00

Markel Group currently has a consensus target price of $1,820.33, indicating a potential downside of 9.15%. Given Markel Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Markel Group is more favorable than INNOVATE.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Markel Group and INNOVATE”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Markel Group	$16.62 billion	1.53	$2.75 billion	$135.69	14.77
INNOVATE	$1.11 billion	0.07	-$34.60 million	($3.36)	-1.74

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

Volatility & Risk

Markel Group has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, INNOVATE has a beta of 1.72, suggesting that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Markel Group	11.66%	7.48%	1.95%
INNOVATE	-3.91%	N/A	-4.69%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.1% of Markel Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.3% of INNOVATE shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Markel Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 55.5% of INNOVATE shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Markel Group beats INNOVATE on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About INNOVATE

INNOVATE Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates in infrastructure, life sciences, and spectrum areas in the United States. The Infrastructure segment provides industrial construction, structural steel, and facility maintenance services, such as fabrication and erection of structural steel and heavy steel plate services, and large-diameter water pipes and water storage tanks; fabrication of trusses and girders; and 3-D building information modeling and detailing for commercial, industrial, and infrastructure construction projects, such as buildings and office complexes, hotels and casinos, convention centers, sports arenas and stadiums, shopping malls, hospitals, dams, bridges, mines, metal processing, refineries, pulp and paper mills, and power plants. This segment also offers solutions for digital engineering, modeling and detailing, construction, and heavy equipment installation and facility services including maintenance, repair, and installation; and manufactures pollution control scrubbers, tunnel liners, pressure vessels, strainers, filters, separators, and customized products. The Life Sciences segment develops products to treat early osteoarthritis of the knee; and aesthetic and medical technologies for the skin. The Spectrum segment operates over-the-air broadcasting stations across the United States; and Azteca America, a Spanish-language broadcast network. The company was formerly known as HC2 Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to INNOVATE Corp. in September 2021. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in New York, New York.