Q4 EPS Estimates for W.R. Berkley Lifted by Zacks Research

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2027 earnings estimates for shares of W.R. Berkley in a report released on Monday, February 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings of $1.31 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.23. The consensus estimate for W.R. Berkley’s current full-year earnings is $4.33 per share.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore set a $69.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $71.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.16. W.R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $60.20 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 8.9% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,496,000 after purchasing an additional 16,450 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,161,000 after purchasing an additional 4,423 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $401,607,000 after purchasing an additional 242,546 shares in the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,847,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 133.5% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,415,000 after buying an additional 18,022 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 370,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,133,933.28. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 8,822,032 shares of company stock valued at $608,511,512. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.09%.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.