Zacks Research Forecasts Stronger Earnings for W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of W. R. Berkley in a note issued to investors on Monday, December 30th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now expects that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $1.27 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.23. The consensus estimate for W. R. Berkley’s current full-year earnings is $3.96 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.28.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $58.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.33 and a 200 day moving average of $58.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $47.59 and a 52 week high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.