FY2026 EPS Estimates for W.R. Berkley Cut by Zacks Research

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) – Zacks Research dropped their FY2026 earnings estimates for W.R. Berkley in a report released on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $4.63 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.67. 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 2026 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.23 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.84 EPS.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial set a $84.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $71.47.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.0%

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $67.52 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.08. 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 market cap of $25.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $56.86 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 325,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.03 per share, with a total value of $22,109,750.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 52,496,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,571,337,167.12. The trade was a 0.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 5,084,916 shares of company stock worth $352,173,470. Corporate insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth about $682,816,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at approximately $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601,230 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 33.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $374,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 21.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,711,425 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,350,000 after acquiring an additional 657,558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Mitsui Sumitomo purchased a sizeable block of Berkley shares (roughly 630k shares across Jan. 20–21, ~ $42.6M), increasing its stake — a strong institutional vote of confidence that can support the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets published Q4 previews and Wall Street metric projections indicating likely solid premium growth, improved investment income and prudent underwriting — useful guidance for what to expect when Berkley reports results. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed: consensus rating skews toward “Reduce” with an average price target near $71.47 — watch upcoming earnings and guidance to see which way estimates move.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed near‑term EPS forecasts (multiple cuts to Q4/Q1 and FY2026–FY2027 estimates), which lowers near‑term expectations and may pressure the stock if others follow. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Sell and slashed its price target to $55 from $77 — a high‑profile downgrade that likely weighed on sentiment and contributed to intraday weakness. Read More.

About W.R. Berkley

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.