Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Bowhead Specialty (NYSE:BOW) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. Bowhead Specialty had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm had revenue of $151.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.99 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Bowhead Specialty’s conference call:

• Bowhead grew gross written premium ~24% for 2025 (Q4 +21%), led by Casualty (full-year +28%) and accelerating digital business Baleen (>$21M in 2025), with construction project wins adding roughly 30% to Q4 Casualty premiums.
• The company reduced its expense ratio to 29.8% through scaling and technology initiatives, helping drive a ~30% increase in adjusted net income and an adjusted return on equity of 13.6%.
• The full-year loss ratio increased to 66.7% (up 2.3 points) and the current accident‑year loss ratio rose 1.8 points; management emphasizes conservative reserving and prior‑year reallocations, but limited long‑tail experience leaves reserve uncertainty.
• For 2026 Bowhead guides ~20% GWP growth, a combined ratio in the mid‑to‑high 90s and mid‑teens ROE, while increasing cyber quota share to 65% and issuing $150M of 7.75% senior notes to support regulatory capital — actions that balance growth with added reinsurance and leverage.

Bowhead Specialty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BOW opened at $24.20 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.99. Bowhead Specialty has a 1 year low of $22.15 and a 1 year high of $42.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $793.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of -1.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bowhead Specialty

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BOW. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bowhead Specialty during the second quarter worth about $52,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Bowhead Specialty by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Bowhead Specialty by 99.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Bowhead Specialty by 19,489.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bowhead Specialty by 2,227.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 3,609 shares during the last quarter.

Bowhead Specialty News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Bowhead Specialty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates — EPS $0.47 and revenue $151.68M, topping consensus; net income reported at $14.8M. These beats support upward re-rating on near-term profitability. Business Wire Release
• Positive Sentiment: Gross written premiums (GWP) rose ~21.3% to $224.1M in Q4 — strong top-line growth in core lines that supports margin leverage as underwriting scales. Reinsurance News
• Positive Sentiment: Management guidance/plan: expects ~20% premium growth in 2026 driven by accelerating digital underwriting and distribution—this is forward-looking growth that investors typically reward. MSN Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/coverage notes: multiple outlets (Zacks, MarketBeat) highlight the beat but point to modest EPS upside and valuation metrics (P/E ~15.5). These analyses may temper enthusiasm for longer-term upside until guidance is realized. Zacks Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and call transcript are available for deeper due diligence (slide deck, call transcript, and summaries). Investors should review comments on loss ratios, reinsurance, and capital deployment for downside/risk context. Earnings Call Transcript

Analyst Ratings Changes

BOW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Bowhead Specialty in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Bowhead Specialty in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Bowhead Specialty from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Bowhead Specialty from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Bowhead Specialty from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.83.

About Bowhead Specialty

Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It underwrites casualty insurance solutions for risks in the construction, distribution, heavy manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality segments; professional liability insurance solutions for financial institutions, private and public directors and officers liability insurance, errors and omissions liability insurance, and cyber segments; and healthcare solutions for hospitals, senior care providers, managed care organizations, miscellaneous medical facilities, and healthcare management liability segments.