Q2 EPS Estimates for W.R. Berkley Cut by Zacks Research

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for W.R. Berkley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings of $1.08 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.09. 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 Q4 2026 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.14 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.32 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.92 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.19.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $66.10 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.38. W.R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $62.63 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 370,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. This trade represents a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 7,559,987 shares of company stock worth $521,633,836 over the last quarter. 23.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 104.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,735,958 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $121,934,000 after purchasing an additional 885,417 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 282,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,793,000 after purchasing an additional 37,999 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 35,525 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 11,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Capital Management lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 33,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.