Q1 EPS Estimates for W.R. Berkley Reduced by Zacks Research

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) – Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of W.R. Berkley in a note issued to investors on Monday, February 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings of $1.15 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.18. 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 Q2 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.13 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.56 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.16 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.22 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.09 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.78 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.85 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WRB. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE WRB opened at $70.91 on Wednesday. W.R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $59.55 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.17.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued 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 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 285,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.64 per share, for a total transaction of $20,132,400.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 57,163,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,997,004.32. This trade represents a 0.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 8,316,450 shares of company stock worth $572,768,056. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 12.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,088 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 38.1% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,297 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

More W.R. Berkley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Sumitomo Insurance (a >10% holder) bought a total of 566,386 WRB shares across Feb. 17–18 (~285,000 on Feb. 18 at $70.64 and ~281,386 on Feb. 17 at $71.19), increasing its stake by ~0.5% and signaling confidence from a large strategic investor. The purchases total about $40 million and were disclosed to the SEC. SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch notes that WRB underperformed peers on Tuesday despite daily gains, suggesting sector dynamics or relative valuation shifts may be influencing short‑term flows. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed multiple quarterly and full‑year EPS forecasts (Q1–Q3 2026, Q1–Q3 2027 and FY2026–FY2028), lowering FY2026 to $4.56 and FY2027 to $4.78 from prior levels — a material downward revision cadence that could pressure forward guidance expectations and investor sentiment.

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.