Zacks Research Increases Earnings Estimates for Markel Group

Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Markel Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the insurance provider will earn $25.38 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $25.18. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Markel Group’s current full-year earnings is $96.25 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Markel Group’s Q2 2026 earnings at $28.56 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $27.34 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $111.15 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $32.59 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $29.10 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $25.81 EPS.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $30.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $22.77 by $8.13. The company had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 7.76%.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on MKL. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,025.00.

Markel Group Trading Down 0.3%

Markel Group stock opened at $2,182.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,034.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,984.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Markel Group has a 52 week low of $1,621.89 and a 52 week high of $2,207.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 1,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,119.12, for a total value of $2,818,429.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,927,036.16. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Simon Wilson sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,072.94, for a total transaction of $155,470.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,669,103.80. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,575 shares of company stock worth $3,330,900. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Markel Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canerector Inc. raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 191,036.0% in the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 10,703,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,458,463,000 after buying an additional 10,698,016 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Markel Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,172,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,242,020,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Markel Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 547,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,045,947,000 after acquiring an additional 9,496 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in Markel Group by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 336,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $671,850,000 after acquiring an additional 145,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Markel Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 304,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $581,818,000 after acquiring an additional 6,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Markel Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Markel Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple near‑term and FY2026 EPS forecasts for MKL, signaling stronger expected earnings momentum (examples: FY2026 raised to $111.15 from $109.94; Q1 2026 to $25.38 from $25.18; Q2 2026 to $28.56 from $28.03; Q3 2026 to $27.34 from $27.20). Zacks maintains a “Strong‑Buy” rating, which supports investor confidence in upcoming results.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also increased several 2027 quarter estimates (Q1 2027 to $32.59 from $32.25; Q2 2027 to $29.10 from $28.79) and modestly raised Q4 2026 to $29.87 from $29.51 — these incremental upgrades point to analyst expectations for continued earnings growth into 2026–27.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary questions whether MKL is still attractive after a large multi‑year run (Yahoo Finance: “Is It Too Late To Consider Markel Group After Its 120% Five Year Surge?”), which can increase shorter‑term volatility as investors reassess valuation vs. growth prospects. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting some of the positive revisions, Zacks trimmed its Q3 2027 EPS estimate for MKL to $25.81 from $26.07 — a modest downgrade that could signal near‑term volatility or that one quarter may underperform prior forecasts.

About Markel Group

Markel Group (NYSE: MKL) is a diversified insurance holding company best known for underwriting specialty insurance products. Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company provides a wide range of commercial property and casualty coverages tailored to niche and hard-to-place risks. Its underwriting operations focus on specialty lines across multiple industries, delivering customized policy structures, program administration, and claims management services for complex exposures.

In addition to primary specialty insurance, Markel operates reinsurance and alternative risk-transfer activities and manages invested assets derived from underwriting float.