Q1 EPS Estimates for W. R. Berkley Boosted by Zacks Research

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for W. R. Berkley in a report released on Monday, December 30th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the insurance provider will earn $1.27 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 $3.96 per share.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised 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 note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.28.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $58.52 on Wednesday. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $47.18 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after buying an additional 12,830 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $732,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 53.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,837,000 after purchasing an additional 257,211 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 104.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $235,701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,641 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,801,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.