W.R. Berkley FY2026 EPS Forecast Lifted by DOWLING & PARTN

Key Points

• DOWLING & PARTN raised W.R. Berkley’s FY2026 EPS forecast to $4.85 from $4.75 and projected FY2028 EPS of $5.20, exceeding the current full-year consensus estimate of $4.75.
• W.R. Berkley’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.27 versus the $1.08 consensus and revenue of $3.72 billion versus $3.28 billion; revenue increased 2.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $75.77, while analyst sentiment remained cautious, with an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $70.94. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share from $0.09.

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) - Analysts at DOWLING & PARTN lifted their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of W.R. Berkley in a report issued on Friday, July 24th. DOWLING & PARTN analyst B. Sullivan now anticipates that the insurance provider will post earnings of $4.85 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.75. The consensus estimate for W.R. Berkley's current full-year earnings is $4.75 per share. DOWLING & PARTN also issued estimates for W.R. Berkley's FY2028 earnings at $5.20 EPS.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

WRB has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $75.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.47. The company has a market cap of $28.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $62.87 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,596,795,000 after acquiring an additional 309,828 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,143,256,000 after acquiring an additional 149,605 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $435,752,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,913,337 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $344,523,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

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.

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