Zacks Research Has Negative View of W.R. Berkley Q4 Earnings

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) – Zacks Research lowered their Q4 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for W.R. Berkley in a research report issued on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $1.17 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.18. The consensus estimate for W.R. Berkley’s current full-year earnings is $4.87 per share.

WRB has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $70.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $70.83.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.0%

WRB stock opened at $67.56 on Tuesday. W.R. Berkley has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 44.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 466 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 19.5% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that specializes in commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through a group of operating units, the company provides coverage for businesses and organizations facing risks related to property damage, liability, workers’ compensation, transportation, professional services and other specialty exposures.

The company generally focuses on specialty and complex risks that may require tailored underwriting, industry expertise and customized policy structures.