Zacks Research Reduces Earnings Estimates for W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for W. R. Berkley in a research note issued to investors on Monday, November 11th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the insurance provider will earn $3.94 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $3.97. The consensus estimate for W. R. Berkley's current full-year earnings is $3.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W. R. Berkley's Q1 2025 earnings at $1.06 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.02 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.16 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.01 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.55 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WRB. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.08.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.21. The company had a trading volume of 276,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,487. The firm has a market cap of $22.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $45.30 and a 52 week high of $61.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.96.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd 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 holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

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.