W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen cut shares of 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 report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.5%

WRB opened at $69.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.35. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.22. W.R. Berkley has a twelve month low of $60.68 and a twelve month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.09%.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 112,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $72.20 per share, for a total transaction of $8,099,107.20. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 9,933,862 shares of company stock valued at $688,134,108. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,542,919,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $682,816,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,752,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,601,230 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213,679 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting W.R. Berkley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major insider buying reported — a stakeholder purchased approximately $10.65M of WRB stock, which can be interpreted as insider confidence in the company’s outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Additional insider purchase of roughly $8.10M was reported, reinforcing the positive signal from insider accumulation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2028 EPS estimate slightly to $4.90 (from $4.85), indicating a marginally improved long‑term view. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks still shows the consensus for the company’s current full-year EPS at $4.33 — unchanged consensus provides context that estimates remain in a narrow range. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed several near-term estimates: Q1 2026 to $1.14 (from $1.15), Q1 2027 to $1.15 (from $1.16), Q2 2027 to $1.21 (from $1.22), Q3 2027 to $1.08 (from $1.09) and nudged FY2026 to $4.55 (from $4.56) and FY2027 to $4.75 (from $4.78). The cuts are small (pennies per share) but represent a modest downward revision in the near-term earnings trajectory that could cap upside until results or new guidance arrive. Article Title

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.