Financial Contrast: Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) and Markel Group (NYSE:MKL)

Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) and Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.1% of Markel Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Markel Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bowhead Specialty and Markel Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bowhead Specialty	$425.59 million	3.02	N/A	N/A	N/A
Markel Group	$16.75 billion	1.43	$2.64 billion	$199.04	9.40

Markel Group has higher revenue and earnings than Bowhead Specialty.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bowhead Specialty	N/A	N/A	N/A
Markel Group	16.34%	7.55%	1.99%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Bowhead Specialty and Markel Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bowhead Specialty	0	2	3	0	2.60
Markel Group	1	4	0	0	1.80

Bowhead Specialty presently has a consensus target price of $33.60, indicating a potential downside of 14.67%. Markel Group has a consensus target price of $1,702.20, indicating a potential downside of 8.98%. Given Markel Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Markel Group is more favorable than Bowhead Specialty.

Summary

Markel Group beats Bowhead Specialty on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bowhead Specialty

Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It underwrites casualty insurance solutions for risks in the construction, distribution, heavy manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality segments; professional liability insurance solutions for financial institutions, private and public directors and officers liability insurance, errors and omissions liability insurance, and cyber segments; and healthcare solutions for hospitals, senior care providers, managed care organizations, miscellaneous medical facilities, and healthcare management liability segments. The company distributes its products through distribution partners in wholesale and retail markets. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. was formerly known as Bowhead Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. in March 2024. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bowhead Insurance Holdings LP.

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.