Zacks Research Reduces Earnings Estimates for W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for W. R. Berkley in a note issued to investors on Monday, November 11th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the insurance provider will earn $0.93 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.97. The consensus estimate for W. R. Berkley’s current full-year earnings is $3.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W. R. Berkley’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.05 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.28 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.12 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $1.18 EPS.

WRB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.08.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $59.65 on Wednesday. W. R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $45.44 and a 12 month high of $61.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,436,000 after buying an additional 2,493,758 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 104.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $235,701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,641 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 128.0% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,507,757 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $85,535,000 after purchasing an additional 846,331 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 38.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,031,786 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $115,263,000 after purchasing an additional 559,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 50.0% during the third quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 1,564,890 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $88,776,000 after purchasing an additional 521,630 shares during the last quarter. 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.