Q3 EPS Estimates for W.R. Berkley Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research has lowered W.R. Berkley Corporation's Q3 2025 EPS estimate from $1.04 to $1.01, while the full-year earnings estimate is now predicted to be $4.33 per share.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on W.R. Berkley's stock, with Morgan Stanley and UBS Group increasing their target prices, while others like Goldman Sachs downgraded their rating from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• The company recently announced an increase in its dividend, now at $0.09 per share, reflecting a 0.5% yield and a site on a low payout ratio of 8.20%.

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) - Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for W.R. Berkley in a report released on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now forecasts that the insurance provider will earn $1.01 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.04. 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 2025 earnings at $1.13 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.20 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.14 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.99 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.66 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $1.19 EPS.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.75.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.8%

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $70.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $55.80 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $70.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.11.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 108.3% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,441 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 6.9% during the second quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 3,832 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,961,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,715,583,000 after buying an additional 625,685 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth about $3,016,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 5.6% during the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 99,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,334,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

About W.R. Berkley

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.

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