Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for W. R. Berkley Co.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:WRB)

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for W. R. Berkley in a research report issued on Friday, July 12th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $0.93 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.93. The consensus estimate for W. R. Berkley’s current full-year earnings is $3.88 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for W. R. Berkley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.95 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.17 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.03 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $58.67 to $55.33 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $66.00 to $62.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $55.33 to $59.33 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $57.33 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.30.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $54.45 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $20.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.61. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $39.40 and a 1-year high of $59.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 20.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,635,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at about $82,706,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 89.2% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,904,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,690,000 after purchasing an additional 898,027 shares in the last quarter. Maren Capital LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,915,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,261,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $89,192,000 after purchasing an additional 458,840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 24th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.51%.

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.