Zacks Research Predicts Stronger Earnings for W.R. Berkley

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, June 24th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now expects that the insurance provider will earn $1.20 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.18. The consensus estimate for W.R. Berkley’s current full-year earnings is $4.33 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W.R. Berkley’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.19 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.74 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.09 EPS.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.07). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WRB. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.42.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $72.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.65 and its 200-day moving average is $65.63. W.R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $51.41 and a 1-year high of $76.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $27.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.42.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.