Zacks Research Weighs in on W. R. Berkley Co.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:WRB)

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for W. R. Berkley in a research report issued on Thursday, September 26th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $0.95 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.94. The consensus estimate for W. R. Berkley’s current full-year earnings is $4.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W. R. Berkley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.97 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $4.00 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.05 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.12 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.15 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.37 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.16 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.73 EPS.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. The company had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. W. R. Berkley’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WRB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen started coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $83.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.70.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $57.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $21.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $41.37 and a 12 month high of $61.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $57.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,768 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 12.7% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 4,915 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.