Brokers Offer Predictions for W.R. Berkley FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald predicts W.R. Berkley will earn $4.22 per share in FY2025, while the current consensus estimate is $4.33 per share.
• W.R. Berkley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, paying $0.09 per share, raising the annualized dividend to $0.36.
• Analyst ratings on W.R. Berkley show a mixed outlook, with one strong buy, ten holds, and two buy ratings amid divergent price targets from various institutions.

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for W.R. Berkley in a research note issued on Wednesday, August 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst R. Tunis forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings of $4.22 per share for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for W.R. Berkley's current full-year earnings is $4.33 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for W.R. Berkley's FY2026 earnings at $5.00 EPS.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.5%

WRB traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.43. 145,993 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,932,771. W.R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $55.80 and a 1-year high of $76.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $70.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.44. The stock has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 2.5% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the first quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.20%.

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.