Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for W.R. Berkley

Key Points

• Zacks Research trimmed its Q1 2026 EPS estimate for W.R. Berkley to $1.14 (from $1.15) and projects FY2026–FY2028 EPS of $4.55, $4.75 and $4.90, respectively.
• W.R. Berkley last reported $1.13 EPS (missing consensus by $0.01) with revenue of $3.18B in line with expectations; the stock trades near $69.93, has an average analyst rating of Hold and a consensus target of $69.67.
• Notable buying and ownership: major shareholder Sumitomo purchased 370,000 shares (~$24.8M) on Jan. 26, institutions own about 68.8% of the shares and insiders hold 23%.

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note issued on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the insurance provider will earn $1.14 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.15. 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 FY2026 earnings at $4.55 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.15 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.08 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.75 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.90 EPS.

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $64.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Argus lowered their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $69.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.70 and a 200-day moving average of $72.22. W.R. Berkley has a 52-week low of $60.68 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.35.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 8.9% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,496,000 after buying an additional 16,450 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $401,607,000 after acquiring an additional 242,546 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 133.5% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,520 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,415,000 after acquiring an additional 18,022 shares during the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,847,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,762,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 370,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.07 per share, for a total transaction of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. This represents a 0.68% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 9,933,862 shares of company stock worth $688,134,108 in the last ninety days. 23.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

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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