W.R. Berkley (WRB) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

W. R. Berkley Corporation is a publicly traded property and casualty insurance company that provides a broad range of coverages to commercial, industrial and professional businesses. Through its network of insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries, the company underwrites specialty lines, general casualty, workers’ compensation, surety, environmental liability and professional indemnity policies. W. R. Berkley also offers captive insurance management services, risk management consulting and loss prevention programs designed to help clients mitigate exposure and control costs.

The company operates across three principal segments: U.S. Insurance, which focuses on middle-market and large-account specialty risks; Global Insurance, offering property and casualty solutions outside the United States; and Reinsurance, providing treaty and facultative reinsurance coverage on a worldwide basis. Within these segments, W. R. Berkley writes business through independent brokers, direct channels and program administrators, tailoring products to industries such as construction, energy, hospitality, professional services and transportation.

Founded in 1967 by William R. Berkley, the firm has grown from a regional carrier into an international insurer serving clients in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. The company maintains corporate headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut, with underwriting offices and branch locations throughout major business centers. Strategic acquisitions and organic expansion have enabled W. R. Berkley to diversify its product portfolio and strengthen its presence in specialty markets.

Leadership at W. R. Berkley includes founder and chairman William R. Berkley and President and Chief Executive Officer W. Robert Berkley Jr., who oversee underwriting practices, capital management and long-term growth initiatives. The company emphasizes disciplined underwriting, sophisticated risk-selection processes and conservative investment policies in order to deliver consistent returns and maintain strong financial ratings from major credit agencies.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $72.52 to $73.35
• 50-Day Range: $67.79 to $73.52
• 52-Week Range: $55.80 to $76.38
• Volume: 1.61 million shs
• Average Volume: 1.58 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $27.67 billion
• P/E Ratio: 16.62
• Dividend Yield: 0.49%
• Price Target: $72.54
• Consensus Rating: Hold

W.R. Berkley Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

W.R. Berkley scored higher than 90% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 165th out of 922 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

W.R. Berkley has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.23, and is based on 2 buy ratings, 9 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

W.R. Berkley has been the subject of 5 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 8.78%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for W.R. Berkley are expected to grow by 8.78% in the coming year, from $4.33 to $4.71 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of W.R. Berkley is 16.62, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 277.42.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of W.R. Berkley is 16.62, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 231.33.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

W.R. Berkley has a PEG Ratio of 2.50. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

W.R. Berkley has a P/B Ratio of 3.31. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.10% of the outstanding shares of W.R. Berkley have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

W.R. Berkley has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.1.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in W.R. Berkley has recently increased by 22.09%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

W.R. Berkley has a dividend yield of 0.50%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

W.R. Berkley has been increasing its dividend for 23 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of W.R. Berkley is 8.20%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, W.R. Berkley will have a dividend payout ratio of 7.64% next year. This indicates that W.R. Berkley will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 2.1 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.50

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.10% of the outstanding shares of W.R. Berkley have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

W.R. Berkley has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.1.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in W.R. Berkley has recently increased by 22.09%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.61

News Sentiment

W.R. Berkley has a news sentiment score of 1.61. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.95 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 19 news articles for W.R. Berkley this week, compared to 20 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 6 people have searched for WRB on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -25% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

1 people have added W.R. Berkley to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, W.R. Berkley insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

23.30% of the stock of W.R. Berkley is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

68.82% of the stock of W.R. Berkley is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

WRB Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have WRB shares performed this year?

W.R. Berkley's stock was trading at $58.52 at the beginning of the year. Since then, WRB shares have increased by 24.6% and is now trading at $72.9410.

How were W.R. Berkley's earnings last quarter?

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The insurance provider earned $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. W.R. Berkley had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.
Read the conference call transcript.

When did W.R. Berkley's stock split?

W.R. Berkley's stock split on the morning of Wednesday, July 10th 2024.The 3-2 split was announced on Wednesday, June 12th 2024. The newly minted shares were distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, July 9th 2024. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the split would have 150 shares after the split.

Does W.R. Berkley have any subsidiaries?

W.R. Berkley subsidiaries include Intrepid Insurance Company, American Mining Insurance Company, Garnet Captive Services, 120dB Films Capital LLC, 120dB Films Lending LLC, 34 Leadenhall Street Limited, 52 Lime Street Management Limited, and others.

Who are W.R. Berkley's major shareholders?

W.R. Berkley's top institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc. (9.74%), State Street Corp (3.89%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.16%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (1.92%).
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of W.R. Berkley?

Shares of WRB stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of W.R. Berkley own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that W.R. Berkley investors own include Chevron (CVX), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), McKesson (MCK), Comcast (CMCSA), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and Yum! Brands (YUM).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 6/30 Dividend: 6/23/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/30 Dividend: 6/23/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/30/2025
• Last Earnings: 7/21/2025
• Today: 9/04/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/20/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: INS - PROP&CASLTY
• Sub-Industry: Property & Casualty Insurance
• Current Symbol: NYSE:WRB
• CIK: 11544
• Web: www.wrberkley.com
• Phone: (203) 629-3000
• Fax: 203-629-3073
• Employees: 8,606
• Year Founded: 1967

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for W.R. Berkley: $72.54
• High Price Target: $82.00
• Low Price Target: $60.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -0.6%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.23
• Research Coverage: 13 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $4.39
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 16.62
• Forward P/E Ratio: 16.85
• P/E Growth: 2.5
• Net Income: $1.76 billion
• Net Margins: 12.32%
• Pretax Margin: 15.84%
• Return on Equity: 18.83%
• Return on Assets: 4.01%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.31
• Current Ratio: 0.37
• Quick Ratio: 0.37

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $13.64 billion
• Price / Sales: 2.03
• Cash Flow: $3.96 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 18.40
• Book Value: $22.06 per share
• Price / Book: 3.31

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 379,290,000
• Free Float: 290,918,000
• Market Cap: $27.67 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.41