Zacks Research Reduces Earnings Estimates for W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for W. R. Berkley in a note issued to investors on Monday, March 24th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $1.20 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.27. 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 Q3 2026 earnings at $0.98 EPS.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 7.4 %

Shares of WRB stock opened at $71.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $27.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $76.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 3,647 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,385 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,733 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $99,055,000 after purchasing an additional 42,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 303,567 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,221,000 after purchasing an additional 78,146 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently 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.