On its third-quarter 2026 earnings call, held on Oct. 19, 2026, W. R. Berkley (WRB -1.03%) announced record third-quarter underwriting profit, which is income earned from policies after paying claims and expenses, of $296 million alongside double-digit growth in its core investment portfolio. Shifting pricing dynamics across commercial insurance test carrier discipline, but the company doesn't chase volume at the expense of margin. Rising bond yields simultaneously expand future earning power across its $24 billion fixed income holdings. Three key takeaways from management's comments highlight the road ahead.
1. Technology Automation Drives 20% Operational Efficiency GainsInvestments in data architecture and artificial intelligence, or automated decision tools, enable faster intake processing for policy applications. That speed gives W. R. Berkley a key edge because competitors can't quote small-business accounts as quickly.
Some of the activity that we're doing on the intake side is allowing us to become more efficient to the tune of 20% plus.
-- W. Robert Berkley, Jr., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President2. Higher Fixed Income Yields Expand Core Investment ProfitsRising domestic interest rates are lifting returns across fixed-maturity securities, including bonds and other fixed-income investments held to maturity. It's a setup in which maturing assets are reinvested at higher market rates, steadily increasing overall investment income.
Income from fixed maturity securities increased 10.3% over the prior year's quarter, attributable to both higher domestic yields and a larger base of invested assets.
-- Richard Baio, Chief Financial Officer3. Underwriting Discipline Shrinks Reinsurance Exposure in Soft MarketsWhen pricing in casualty reinsurance, which is insurance bought by other insurance carriers to spread their risk, falls short of return targets, W. R. Berkley doesn't compete for market share. Shrinking net premiums written, or net collected policy revenue, in soft markets preserves capital for better opportunities.
As the reinsurance market remains competitive, we've been steadfast in maintaining our underwriting discipline. Accordingly, you will take note that the segment's net premiums written declined 11.6% to $369 million, driven by casualty, and to a lesser extent, property.
-- Richard Baio, Chief Financial OfficerLooking AheadPrimary insurance operations continue expanding across specialized product lines. Structural advantages in small-account underwriting and proprietary data tools help navigate competitive pricing, so it's well positioned to capture targeted opportunities.
From -- as best as we can tell, we think the insurance business is going to be able to continue to grow all in, barring the unforeseen event, at mid-single digits or better.
-- W. Robert Berkley, Jr., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and PresidentA portfolio duration below the loss reserve length allows rapid reinvestment at higher market rates. Management's strategic focus stays locked on underwriting discipline, so investors don't have to worry about reckless top-line expansion.
The combination of how we've managed duration, in addition to how the portfolio rolls over, we are particularly well positioned to capitalize on the rate environment that we see before us today, and we have every intention of continuing to do that.
-- W. Robert Berkley, Jr., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and PresidentThe Motley Fool has positions in and recommends W. R. Berkley. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Key Takeaways WRB's Q3 operating earnings rose 6.4% to $1.17 per share, while revenues of $3.76 billion missed estimates.Net premiums written jumped 1.3% to $3.27 billion, while investment income grew 9.2% to $383.5 million.WRB's combined ratio improved to 90.8%, while catastrophe losses rose to $85.9 million from $78.5 million.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.17 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.63%. The bottom line increased 6.4% year over year. Operating revenues of $3.76 billion rose 1.8% year over year but missed the consensus estimate by 1.19%.
The insurer benefited from higher premiums and increased net investment income, partly offset by higher expenses and catastrophe losses. Net premiums earned jumped 1.8% year over year.
WRB's Q3 Performance HighlightsW.R. Berkley’s net premiums written increased 1.3% year over year to $3.27 billion, driven by growth in the Insurance segment. Net premiums earned rose to $3.21 billion from $3.16 billion in the year-ago quarter. Our estimate was pegged at $3.31 billion.
Net investment income grew 9.2% year over year to $383.5 million, supported by higher income from the core investment portfolio. Income from fixed-maturity securities increased 10.3%, while the core portfolio contributed $369.1 million, up 12% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $398.2 million. Our estimate was pegged at $384.3 billion.
Total expenses jumped 1.4% year over year to $3.16 billion, reflecting higher loss and loss expenses and other operating costs, partly offset by lower expenses from non-insurance businesses. Our estimate was pegged at $3.25 billion.
The consolidated loss ratio improved 20 basis points (bps) year over year to 62.2%. Our estimate was pegged at 63.6%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 63.6%.
The expense ratio deteriorated 10 bps to 28.6%. Our estimate was pegged at 29.2%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 28.3%.
The combined ratio, a measure of underwriting profitability, improved 10 bps to 90.8%. Our estimate was pegged at 92.8%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 90.95%.
Catastrophe losses increased to $85.9 million from $78.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The current accident year combined ratio, excluding catastrophe losses, was 88.1%.
Berkley's Insurance Segment ResultsNet premiums written at the Insurance segment increased 3.2% year over year to $2.9 billion in the quarter, in line with our estimate. Growth was primarily driven by higher premiums from other liability, auto, professional liability and short-tail lines.
Net premiums earned increased 3.2% to $2.86 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $2.9 billion. Our estimate was pegged at $2.83 billion.
Gross premiums written rose 4.9% to $3.56 billion, reflecting continued underwriting activity across the segment. Our estimate was pegged at $2.95 billion.
The segment's combined ratio improved 60 bps year over year to 91.7%. Our estimate was pegged at 93.4%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 91.7%.
The loss ratio improved 60 bps to 63.3%. Our estimate was pegged at 64.5%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 63.7%.
The expense ratio remained unchanged at 28.4%. Our estimate was pegged at 28.9%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 28%.
Pre-tax income increased 10.3% year over year to $523.4 million. Pre-tax underwriting income grew 10.6% to $237.7 million, indicating improved underwriting profitability.
WRB's Reinsurance & Monoline Excess ResultsNet premiums written in the Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment decreased 11.7% year over year to $368.6 million. The decline reflected lower premiums in casualty and property reinsurance, partly offset by growth in monoline excess. Our estimate was pegged at $439.4 million.
Net premiums earned declined 8.3% year over year to $351.7 million, while gross premiums written decreased 11.7% to $391.5 million. Our estimate was pegged at $382.2 million. the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $367.1 million.
The segment's combined ratio deteriorated 230 bps year over year to 83.4%. Our estimate was pegged at 88.1%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 86.8%.
The loss ratio increased 190 bps to 53.2%, Our estimate was pegged at 56.9%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 56.9%.
The expense ratio rose 40 bps to 30.2%. Our estimate was pegged at 31.3%, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 29.9%.
Pre-tax income declined 7.5% year over year to $133.3 million, reflecting weaker segment profitability.
Berkley's Investment Portfolio PerformanceThe insurer's core investment portfolio continued to support investment income growth. Income from the arbitrage trading account declined to $12.3 million from $16.3 million, while investment fund income decreased to $2.1 million from $5.4 million.
Net investment losses totaled $18.3 million compared with investment gains of $79 million in the prior-year quarter. These losses weighed on GAAP net income, which declined 12.7% year over year to $446 million.
The company's fixed-maturity securities portfolio maintained an average credit rating of AA-. Management highlighted favorable reinvestment yields relative to the portfolio's existing book yield.
WRB's Financial UpdateW.R. Berkley exited the third quarter of 2026 with total assets worth $45.68 billion compared with $43.93 billion at the 2025-end level.
Senior notes and other debt declined slightly from the 2025-end level to $1.83 billion. Book value per share increased 0.6% from the 2025-end level to $25.87.
Cash flow from operations was $731.3 million, down 35.8% year over year.
Operating return on equity declined 220 bps year over year to 18.8%, while return on equity decreased to 18.4% from 24.3%.
Berkley's Capital DeploymentW.R. Berkley repurchased approximately 309,508 common shares for $21.1 million during the third quarter of 2026, continuing its capital return activities.
During the first nine months of 2026, the insurer returned $728.6 million to shareholders, including $435.1 million through share repurchases.
Management emphasized its disciplined capital allocation strategy, maintaining financial flexibility to support future opportunities while continuing to return capital to shareholders.
WRB’s Zacks RankW.R. Berkley currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other InsurersThe Progressive Corporation’s (PGR - Free Report) third-quarter 2026 earnings per share of $4.60 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.1%. The bottom line increased 13.6% year over year. Net premiums written were $22.3 billion in the quarter, up 4% from $21.4 billion a year ago. Combined ratio improved 80 basis points from the prior-year quarter’s level to 88.7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 89.4.
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2026 core earnings of $9.18 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.07 by 29.8%. The bottom line increased 12.8% year over year. Revenues of $12.45 billion surpassed the consensus estimate of $12.40 billion by 0.4% and remained nearly flat year over year.
The combined ratio improved 50 basis points year over year to 86.8%, reflecting stronger reserve development, partially offset by higher catastrophe losses. The underlying combined ratio deteriorated 20 basis points to 84.1%, while underlying underwriting income reached $1.74 billion pre-tax. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for combined ratio was pegged at 92.
Upcoming ReleaseChubb Limited (CB - Free Report) will report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 20, after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings per share is pegged at $6.42, indicating a decrease of 14.3% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. CB’s earnings beat estimates in the last four quarters.
W. R. Berkley remains a "Hold" as shares trade near fair value, reflecting strong fundamentals but limited upside due to a structural valuation premium. Q3 results were solid, with a 90.8% combined ratio and investment income up 12%, benefiting from higher interest rates and prudent risk management. WRB's multiline model and conservative investment portfolio provide resilience, but modest underwriting margin compression is expected as premium inflation slows.
W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.17 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.14 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.1 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +2.63%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this insurance company would post earnings of $1.09 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.27, delivering a surprise of +16.51%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.
W.R. Berkley, which belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, posted revenues of $3.76 billion for the quarter ended September 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.19%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $3.69 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
W.R. Berkley shares have added about 7.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 11.9%.
What's Next for W.R. Berkley?While W.R. Berkley has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for W.R. Berkley was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.18 on $3.84 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $4.90 on $15.05 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Insurance - Property and Casualty is currently in the top 26% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Another stock from the same industry, Arch Capital Group (ACGL - Free Report) , has yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2026. The results are expected to be released on October 27.
This property and casualty insurer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.05 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -26%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.5% higher over the last 30 days to the current level.
Arch Capital Group's revenues are expected to be $4.46 billion, down 5.5% from the year-ago quarter.
W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) reported $3.76 billion in revenue for the quarter ended September 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 1.8%. EPS of $1.17 for the same period compares to $1.10 a year ago.
The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.8 billion, representing a surprise of -1.19%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +2.63%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $1.14.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.
Here is how W.R. Berkley performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Loss ratio - Total: 62.2% compared to the 63.3% average estimate based on three analysts.Expense Ratio - Total: 28.6% versus 28.7% estimated by three analysts on average.Combined Ratio - Total: 90.8% compared to the 92.1% average estimate based on three analysts.Loss ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess: 53.2% versus 58.6% estimated by two analysts on average.Expense ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess: 30.2% versus the two-analyst average estimate of 30.2%.Revenues from non-insurance businesses: $130.82 million versus $156.77 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -13% change.Insurance service fees: $28.62 million versus $32.2 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -7.5% change.Net premiums earned: $3.21 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $3.21 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +1.8%.Net investment income: $383.54 million versus $400.02 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +9.2% change.Net premiums earned- Reinsurance & Monoline Excess: $351.72 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $365.38 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -8.3%.Other income (loss): $0.54 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $0.84 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +35%.Net premiums earned- Insurance: $2.86 billion versus the two-analyst average estimate of $2.84 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +3.2%.View all Key Company Metrics for W.R. Berkley here>>>
Shares of W.R. Berkley have returned +7.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
Palomar’s High-Risk Insurance Strategy Is Paying Off BigW.R. Berkley NYSE: WRB reported third-quarter 2026 operating earnings of $456 million, or $1.17 per share, as record underwriting profit and higher investment income supported an annualized operating return on equity of 18.8%. Year-to-date operating return on equity exceeded 20%, Chief Financial Officer Rich Baio said during the company’s earnings call.
Pre-tax underwriting profit reached a third-quarter record of $296 million. The current accident-year loss ratio, excluding catastrophe losses, improved 40 basis points from a year earlier to 59.5%, while the expense ratio was relatively flat at 28.6%. The resulting accident-year combined ratio excluding catastrophes was 88.1%.
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The Smart Glasses Gold Rush Is Leaving Old-School Eyewear BehindPre-tax catastrophe losses were $86 million, or 2.7 points on the loss ratio. Baio said catastrophe losses rose only $7 million despite nearly twice as many storm events named by PCS compared with the prior-year quarter. The calendar-year combined ratio was 90.8%.
Insurance Segment Sets Premium Records The insurance segment posted a current accident-year combined ratio excluding catastrophes of 88.3%, an improvement of one percentage point year over year. Pre-tax underwriting income in the segment increased 10.6% to $238 million.
S&P 500's surge to new highs: Bull trap hiding in plain sight?Gross premiums written in the insurance segment rose 4.9% to a third-quarter record of $3.6 billion, while net premiums written increased 3.2% to a record $2.9 billion. Chairman, CEO and President Rob Berkley said renewal retention remained at 80%, which he said indicated the book was not churning.
Berkley said pricing excluding workers’ compensation “popped back up” to about 4%. He also highlighted a deliberate shift toward smaller accounts in other liability, citing greater competition for larger accounts and the company’s ability to handle smaller business efficiently. He said exposure in auto was declining at a healthy pace while rate increases were several times higher than the reported 5% figure.
Within workers’ compensation, Berkley said the company was seeing bottoming and incremental firming in California, while other parts of the country were still lagging. He said directors and officers liability pricing was in the process of bottoming, though the company sees attractive opportunities in several areas of professional liability.
Management said the favorable insurance loss-ratio performance was driven largely by non-catastrophe property losses and changes in business mix. However, Berkley cautioned analysts not to assume the quarter’s underlying loss ratio should be treated as a run rate.
On reserve development, Berkley said commercial auto was the primary source of adverse development in the insurance operation, including both primary commercial auto and exposure that can extend into excess and umbrella coverage.
Reinsurance Premiums Decline as Discipline Continues The reinsurance and monoline excess segment reported a current accident-year combined ratio excluding catastrophes of 86.9% and pre-tax underwriting income of $58 million. Net premiums written in the segment declined 11.6% to $369 million, led by casualty and, to a lesser extent, property.
Berkley said the company remained dissatisfied with conditions in casualty reinsurance, particularly ceding commissions, and was willing to let business decline rather than accept returns it viewed as inadequate. He said the company expects reinsurance premiums to continue shrinking at a rate of roughly 10% to 20% for the foreseeable future.
Management said it was watching Jan. 1 renewals closely, particularly in property reinsurance. Berkley said market commentary suggested property reinsurance rates could decline by 10% to 20%, though he added there was limited visibility. He noted that the company purchases more reinsurance than it sells, providing what he characterized as a meaningful hedge.
Looking ahead, Berkley said the insurance business could grow at a mid-single-digit rate or better, barring unforeseen events. He expects commercial property conditions to become more challenging, while liability-related lines could offer more durable opportunities.
Investment Income Rises; Company Sees Higher-Rate Tailwind Pre-tax net investment income increased to $384 million, supported by 12% growth in the core investment portfolio. Fixed-maturity investment income rose 10.3% from the prior-year quarter because of higher domestic yields and a larger invested-asset base.
Income from investment funds was $2 million during the quarter. Baio said such income can vary quarter to quarter, though the company generally expects investment funds to generate $10 million to $20 million per quarter on average and remains above the high end of that range year to date.
The duration of invested assets increased to 3.3 years at quarter-end from 3.2 years, while the average credit quality remained AA-minus. Berkley said the company’s domestic fixed-income portfolio was just under $24 billion, carried a book yield of roughly 4.7%, and had a new-money rate between 80 and 100 basis points higher.
He said the average life of insurance reserves was just under four years, leaving room to extend duration thoughtfully and capture prevailing yields. Berkley described the rate environment as a significant source of leverage for the company’s earnings model as the portfolio and new cash flow are reinvested.
Stockholders’ equity exceeded $9.6 billion as of Sept. 30, roughly flat from year-end 2025. The company returned $729 million of capital to shareholders year to date, while rising interest rates increased unrealized investment losses by $800 million. Baio said the company generally holds fixed-maturity securities to maturity and expects those unrealized losses to reverse favorably into equity over time.
Technology, AI and Changing Risk Landscape Berkley devoted much of his opening remarks to the changing risk environment associated with autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and robotics. He said autonomous vehicles could reshape risks in private-passenger and commercial auto and potentially shift exposures toward product liability and other liability lines.
He also said robotics powered in part by AI could eventually have implications for workers’ compensation as labor markets and workplace roles evolve, though he said the company was not yet seeing specific effects in its client base.
On AI-related liability, Berkley said the company views the exposure as real and is working to understand it, control it, apply appropriate policy wording and ensure it is paid adequately for risks assumed. He acknowledged that the company has used exclusionary language where it considers that appropriate.
The company said its long-running investments in data and technology are supporting underwriting and claims operations. Berkley said certain intake processes have become more than 20% more efficient, allowing the company to process and quote more submissions, particularly smaller accounts. He also said more than half of the company’s claims settle for $5,000 or less, presenting an opportunity to reduce human touch in certain claims processes.
While technology may help contain expenses as earned premium growth moderates, Berkley said it would not necessarily prevent the expense ratio from increasing if the company makes additional investments. Still, he said the company is better positioned to manage expenses than it was previously.
About W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB)W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of specialized insurance businesses. The company primarily provides commercial property and casualty insurance, serving businesses, organizations and other commercial customers with coverage tailored to specific industries and risks.
Its products and services include workers' compensation, commercial automobile, property, general liability, professional liability, directors and officers liability, excess and surplus lines, and other specialty insurance products.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Return on Equity of 18.4% and Operating Return on Equity of 18.8%;
Pre-Tax Underwriting Income for the Insurance Segment Grew 10.6%;
Quarterly Net Investment Income Grew to $383.5 Million Driven by Core Portfolio Increase of 12.0%
GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today reported its third quarter 2026 results.
Summary Financial Data
(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)
Third Quarter
Nine Months
2026
2025
2026
2025
Gross premiums written
$ 3,951,788
$ 3,836,256
$ 11,881,554
$ 11,497,964
Net premiums written
3,267,602
3,226,930
9,872,182
9,711,672
Net income to common stockholders
446,005
511,032
1,413,483
1,329,892
Net income per diluted share
1.14
1.28
3.60
3.32
Operating income (1)
456,541
440,198
1,467,749
1,280,364
Operating income per diluted share (1)
1.17
1.10
3.73
3.20
Return on equity (2)
18.4%
24.3%
19.4%
21.1%
Operating return on equity (1) (2)
18.8%
21.0%
20.2%
20.3%
Third quarter highlights included:
Return on equity of 18.4% and operating return on equity of 18.8%. Pre-tax underwriting income for the Insurance segment grew 10.6% to $237.7 million. Net investment income grew to $383.5 million driven by core portfolio increase of 12.0%. Gross and net premiums written for the Insurance segment grew 4.9% and 3.2%, respectively. Operating income of $456.5 million grew 6.4% on a per share basis to $1.17. The current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses of 2.7 loss ratio points was 88.1% and reported combined ratio was 90.8%. Average rate increases excluding workers' compensation were approximately 4.0%. Commenting on the Company's performance, W. Robert Berkley, Jr., chairman, chief executive officer, and president, said:
The Company delivered another excellent quarter, generating an annualized 18.8% operating return on beginning-of-year stockholders’ equity. These results demonstrate the continuing strength in how we manage our specialty insurance underwriting, as well as our investment portfolio.
Our underwriting results have consistently been outstanding due to our unwavering commitment to rate adequacy and attention to terms and conditions. As the cycles for various product lines have decoupled, the breadth of our offering through our 60 specialty businesses allows for greater stability. Our long-term view and disciplined approach produced a strong 88.1% accident year combined ratio, excluding catastrophe losses.
Our investment portfolio continues to be a great contributor to our economic model, with the domestic fixed-maturity portfolio serving as the primary driver. Income from fixed-maturity securities increased 10.3% over the corresponding period a year ago. The credit quality of our portfolio remains excellent, with an average strong AA- rating, and reinvestment yields continue to meaningfully exceed our portfolio’s book yield.
Our disciplined approach to capital management remains unchanged. We returned a total of $728.6 million to shareholders year-to-date, which includes $435.1 million of share repurchases, while preserving substantial flexibility to support future opportunities.
The strong prevailing interest rate tailwind has set investment income on a path to greater earnings contributions, and greater utilization of technology is enabling us to further leverage our underwriting and claims expertise. We believe we remain well-positioned to continue delivering attractive long-term risk-adjusted returns and creating long-term value for our shareholders.
Webcast Conference Call
The Company will hold its quarterly conference call with analysts and investors to discuss its earnings and other information on October 19, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. The conference call will be webcast live on the Company's website at https://ir.berkley.com/events-and-presentations/default.aspx. Please log on early to register. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website approximately two hours after the end of the conference call. Additional financial information can be found on the Company's website at https://ir.berkley.com/investor-relations/financial-information/quarterly-results/default.aspx.
About W. R. Berkley Corporation
Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates worldwide in two segments of the property casualty business: Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess.
Forward Looking Information
This is a “Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein, including statements related to our outlook for the industry and for our performance for the year 2026 and beyond, are based upon the Company’s historical performance and on current plans, estimates and expectations. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. They are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: the cyclical nature of the property casualty industry; the impact of significant competition, including new entrants to the industry; the long-tail and potentially volatile nature of the insurance and reinsurance business; product demand and pricing; claims development and the process of estimating reserves; investment risks, including those of our portfolio of fixed maturity securities and investments in equity securities, including investments in financial institutions, foreign government bonds, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed securities, loans receivable, investment funds, including real estate, merger arbitrage, energy-related and private equity investments; the effects of emerging claim and coverage issues; the uncertain nature of damage theories and loss amounts, including claims for cybersecurity-related risks; the increasing use of artificial intelligence technologies by us or third-parties on which we rely could expose us to technological, security, legal, and other risks; natural and man-made catastrophic losses, including as a result of terrorist activities or the ongoing conflict with Iran; the risk of future pandemics, as well as the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of climate-related risks, which may alter the frequency and increase the severity of catastrophe events; general economic and market activities, including inflation, the risk of recession, changing interest rates, the impact of tariffs and volatility in the credit and capital markets; the impact of the conditions in the financial markets and the global economy, and the potential effect of legislative, regulatory, accounting or other initiatives taken in response to such conditions, on our results and financial condition; foreign currency and political risks relating to our international operations; our ability to attract and retain key personnel and qualified employees; continued availability of capital and financing; the success of our new ventures or acquisitions and the availability of other opportunities; the availability of reinsurance; our retention under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019; the ability or willingness of our reinsurers to pay reinsurance recoverables owed to us; other legislative and regulatory developments, including those related to business practices in the insurance industry; credit risk related to our policyholders, independent agents and brokers; changes in the ratings assigned to us or our insurance company subsidiaries by rating agencies; the availability of dividends from our insurance company subsidiaries; cybersecurity breaches of our information technology systems and the information technology systems of our vendors and other third parties, or related processes and systems; the effectiveness of our controls to ensure compliance with guidelines, policies and legal and regulatory standards; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results for the year 2026 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement we make. Any projections of growth in our revenues would not necessarily result in commensurate levels of earnings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Consolidated Financial Summary
(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)
Third Quarter
Nine Months
2026
2025
2026
2025
Revenues:
Net premiums written
$
3,267,602
$
3,226,930
$
9,872,182
$
9,711,672
Change in net unearned premiums
(53,998
)
(70,548
)
(356,017
)
(444,724
)
Net premiums earned
3,213,604
3,156,382
9,516,165
9,266,948
Net investment income
383,537
351,238
1,206,585
1,090,833
Net investment (losses) gains:
Net realized and unrealized (losses) gains on investments
(17,541
)
78,800
(88,301
)
125,044
Change in allowance for credit losses on investments
(764
)
160
(969
)
1,244
Net investment (losses) gains
(18,305
)
78,960
(89,270
)
126,288
Revenues from non-insurance businesses
130,824
150,335
421,802
408,083
Insurance service fees
28,615
30,924
87,464
92,610
Other income
536
397
2,518
1,681
Total Revenues
3,738,811
3,768,236
11,145,264
10,986,443
Expenses:
Loss and loss expenses
1,998,469
1,968,857
5,895,026
5,825,073
Other operating costs and expenses
1,009,559
975,333
3,006,138
2,964,550
Expenses from non-insurance businesses
124,845
144,176
383,428
392,976
Interest expense
31,614
31,760
95,052
95,265
Total expenses
3,164,487
3,120,126
9,379,644
9,277,864
Income before income tax
574,324
648,110
1,765,620
1,708,579
Income tax expense
(125,999
)
(136,141
)
(349,414
)
(378,551
)
Net Income before noncontrolling interests
448,325
511,969
1,416,206
1,330,028
Noncontrolling interest
(2,320
)
(937
)
(2,723
)
(136
)
Net income to common stockholders
$
446,005
$
511,032
$
1,413,483
$
1,329,892
Net income per share:
Basic
$
1.15
$
1.29
$
3.62
$
3.35
Diluted
$
1.14
$
1.28
$
3.60
$
3.32
Average shares outstanding (1):
Basic
388,750
397,220
390,044
397,056
Diluted
391,337
400,204
392,992
400,306
Business Segment Operating Results
(Amounts in thousands, except ratios) (1)
Third Quarter
Nine Months
2026
2025
2026
2025
Insurance:
Gross premiums written
$
3,560,309
$
3,393,023
$
10,724,644
$
10,216,863
Net premiums written
2,899,016
2,809,743
8,802,716
8,517,901
Net premiums earned
2,861,882
2,773,009
8,453,404
8,144,300
Pre-tax income
523,358
474,538
1,626,594
1,496,715
Loss ratio
63.3
%
63.9
%
63.4
%
63.9
%
Expense ratio
28.4
%
28.4
%
28.4
%
28.1
%
GAAP Combined ratio
91.7
%
92.3
%
91.8
%
92.0
%
Reinsurance & Monoline Excess:
Gross premiums written
$
391,479
$
443,233
$
1,156,910
$
1,281,101
Net premiums written
368,586
417,187
1,069,466
1,193,771
Net premiums earned
351,722
383,373
1,062,761
1,122,648
Pre-tax income
133,265
144,008
421,476
391,687
Loss ratio
53.2
%
51.3
%
50.2
%
55.5
%
Expense ratio
30.2
%
29.8
%
30.2
%
29.1
%
GAAP Combined ratio
83.4
%
81.1
%
80.4
%
84.6
%
Corporate and Eliminations:
Net investment (losses) gains
$
(18,305
)
$
78,960
$
(89,270
)
$
126,288
Interest expense
(31,614
)
(31,760
)
(95,052
)
(95,265
)
Other expenses
(32,380
)
(17,636
)
(98,128
)
(210,846
)
Pre-tax (loss) Income
(82,299
)
29,564
(282,450
)
(179,823
)
Consolidated:
Gross premiums written
$
3,951,788
$
3,836,256
$
11,881,554
$
11,497,964
Net premiums written
3,267,602
3,226,930
9,872,182
9,711,672
Net premiums earned
3,213,604
3,156,382
9,516,165
9,266,948
Pre-tax income
574,324
648,110
1,765,620
1,708,579
Loss ratio
62.2
%
62.4
%
61.9
%
62.9
%
Expense ratio
28.6
%
28.5
%
28.6
%
28.2
%
GAAP Combined ratio
90.8
%
90.9
%
90.5
%
91.1
%
Supplemental Information
(Amounts in thousands)
Third Quarter
Nine Months
2026
2025
2026
2025
Net premiums written:
Other liability
$
1,133,295
$
1,092,550
$
3,500,195
$
3,419,802
Short-tail lines (1)
672,040
663,017
2,037,403
1,969,507
Auto
438,702
416,956
1,318,370
1,254,788
Workers' compensation
332,615
330,181
1,008,499
1,011,679
Professional liability
322,364
307,039
938,249
862,125
Total Insurance
2,899,016
2,809,743
8,802,716
8,517,901
Casualty (2)
144,164
192,694
465,098
568,412
Property (2)
116,983
119,671
336,880
367,755
Monoline excess
107,439
104,822
267,488
257,604
Total Reinsurance & Monoline Excess
368,586
417,187
1,069,466
1,193,771
Total
$
3,267,602
$
3,226,930
$
9,872,182
$
9,711,672
Current accident year losses from catastrophes:
Insurance
$
82,911
$
69,826
$
218,171
$
218,073
Reinsurance & Monoline Excess
3,021
8,691
5,807
70,785
Total
$
85,932
$
78,517
$
223,978
$
288,858
Net Investment income:
Core portfolio (3)
$
369,122
$
329,508
$
1,094,519
$
974,811
Investment funds
2,123
5,421
70,435
59,713
Arbitrage trading account
12,292
16,309
41,631
56,309
Total
$
383,537
$
351,238
$
1,206,585
$
1,090,833
Net realized and unrealized (losses) gains on investments:
Net realized gains (losses) on investments
$
27,831
$
69,210
$
(20,425
)
$
31,877
Change in unrealized (losses) gains on equity securities
(45,372
)
9,590
(67,876
)
93,167
Total
$
(17,541
)
$
78,800
$
(88,301
)
$
125,044
Other operating costs and expenses:
Policy acquisition and insurance operating expenses
$
919,125
$
900,312
$
2,717,653
$
2,620,657
Insurance service expenses
24,570
22,711
73,204
70,245
Net foreign currency (gains) losses
(5,122
)
(12,009
)
(20,159
)
62,765
Other costs and expenses
70,986
64,319
235,440
210,883
Total
$
1,009,559
$
975,333
$
3,006,138
$
2,964,550
Cash flow from operations
$
731,333
$
1,139,860
$
2,199,237
$
2,587,484
Reconciliation of net income to operating income:
Net income
$
446,005
$
511,032
$
1,413,483
$
1,329,892
Pre-tax investment losses (gains), net of related expenses
18,551
(78,305
)
89,270
(125,985
)
Pre-tax net foreign currency (gains) losses
(5,122
)
(12,009
)
(20,159
)
62,765
Income tax (benefit) expense
(2,893
)
19,480
(14,845
)
13,692
Operating income after-tax (4)
$
456,541
$
440,198
$
1,467,749
$
1,280,364
(1)
Short-tail lines include commercial multi-peril (non-liability), inland marine, accident and health, fidelity and surety, boiler and machinery, high net worth homeowners and other lines.
(2)
Includes reinsurance casualty and property and certain program management business.
(3)
Core portfolio includes fixed maturity securities, equity securities, cash and cash equivalents, real estate and loans receivable.
(4)
Operating income is a non-GAAP financial measure defined by the Company as net income excluding after-tax net investment gains (losses) and after-tax net foreign currency gains (losses). Net investment gains (losses) are computed net of related expenses, including performance-based compensatory costs associated with realized investment gains. Management believes this measurement provides a useful indicator of trends in the Company's underlying operations.
Selected Balance Sheet Information
(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)
September 30, 2026
December 31,
2025
Net invested assets (1)
$
33,952,861
$
33,173,381
Total assets
45,675,961
43,926,843
Reserves for losses and loss expenses
23,610,579
22,207,773
Senior notes and other debt
1,827,874
1,829,198
Subordinated debentures
1,011,066
1,010,527
Common stockholders' equity (2)
9,610,213
9,700,818
Common stock outstanding (3)
371,448
377,156
Book value per share (4)
25.87
25.72
Tangible book value per share (4)
25.27
25.11
(1)
Net invested assets include investments, cash and cash equivalents, trading accounts receivable from brokers and clearing organizations, trading account securities sold but not yet purchased and unsettled purchases, net of related liabilities.
(2)
As of September 30, 2026, reflected in common stockholders' equity are after-tax unrealized investment losses of $928 million and unrealized currency translation losses of $320 million. As of December 31, 2025, reflected in common stockholders' equity are after-tax unrealized investment losses of $125 million and unrealized currency translation losses of $326 million.
(3)
During the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the Company repurchased 6,465,878 shares of its common stock for $435.1 million. During the three months ended September 30, 2026, the Company repurchased 309,508 shares of its common stock for $21.1 million. The number of shares of common stock outstanding excludes shares held in a grantor trust (17,378,810 shares).
(4)
Book value per share is total common stockholders’ equity divided by the number of common shares outstanding. Tangible book value per share is total common stockholders’ equity excluding the after-tax value of goodwill and other intangible assets divided by the number of common shares outstanding. Adjusted book value per share and adjusted tangible book value per share, including shares held in a grantor trust are $24.72 and $24.14, respectively.
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Introduction I often discuss a wide range of topics, including dividend growth stocks and income vehicles.
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CME either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Analysts on Wall Street project that W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) will announce quarterly earnings of $1.14 per share in its forthcoming report, representing an increase of 3.6% year over year. Revenues are projected to reach $3.8 billion, increasing 3.1% from the same quarter last year.
The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.7% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This reflects how the analysts covering the stock have collectively reevaluated their initial estimates during this timeframe.
Ahead of a company's earnings disclosure, it is crucial to give due consideration to changes in earnings estimates. These revisions serve as a noteworthy factor in predicting potential investor reactions to the stock. Numerous empirical studies consistently demonstrate a strong relationship between trends in earnings estimate revision and the short-term price performance of a stock.
While investors typically use consensus earnings and revenue estimates as indicators of quarterly business performance, exploring analysts' projections for specific key metrics can offer valuable insights.
In light of this perspective, let's dive into the average estimates of certain W.R. Berkley metrics that are commonly tracked and forecasted by Wall Street analysts.
The consensus among analysts is that 'Revenues from non-insurance businesses' will reach $156.77 million. The estimate suggests a change of +4.3% year over year.
Analysts' assessment points toward 'Insurance service fees' reaching $32.20 million. The estimate suggests a change of +4.1% year over year.
Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Net premiums earned' should arrive at $3.21 billion. The estimate suggests a change of +1.8% year over year.
It is projected by analysts that the 'Net investment income' will reach $400.02 million. The estimate points to a change of +13.9% from the year-ago quarter.
The consensus estimate for 'Loss ratio - Total' stands at 63.3%. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported 62.4% in the same quarter of the previous year.
According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Expense Ratio - Total' should come in at 28.7%. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 28.5%.
The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Combined Ratio - Total' of 92.1%. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 90.9%.
The average prediction of analysts places 'Loss ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess' at 58.6%. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported 51.3% in the same quarter of the previous year.
The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Expense ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess' will likely reach 30.2%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 29.8% in the same quarter last year.
Analysts predict that the 'Combined Ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess' will reach 88.8%. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 81.1%.
Analysts expect 'Expense ratio - Insurance' to come in at 28.6%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 28.4% in the same quarter last year.
Analysts forecast 'Loss Ratio - Insurance Segment' to reach 64.1%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 63.9% in the same quarter last year.
View all Key Company Metrics for W.R. Berkley here>>>
Over the past month, shares of W.R. Berkley have returned +3.2% versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.1% change. Currently, WRB carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggesting that its performance may align with the overall market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
Key Takeaways Insurance gross premiums written are expected to rise 3.6%, while reinsurance premiums may dip 0.9%. Net investment income is projected at $384.3 million, up 9.4%, supported by fixed maturities funds. The combined ratio is estimated at 92.77%, as disciplined underwriting faces pressure from elevated expenses. W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB - Free Report) is expected to register an improvement in both top and bottom lines when it reports third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 19, after market close.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB’s third-quarter revenues is pegged at $3.80 billion, indicating 3.1% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.14 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB’s third-quarter earnings has moved up 0.8% in the past 30 days. The estimate suggests a year-over-year increase of 3.6%.
What the Zacks Model UnveilsOur proven model predicts an earnings beat for W.R. Berkley this time around. This is because the stock has the right combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), which increases the chances of an earnings beat.
Earnings ESP: W.R. Berkley has an Earnings ESP of +1.31%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate of $1.16 is pegged higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.14. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: W.R. Berkley currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Factors Likely to Shape Q3 Results of WRBGross premiums written in the Insurance segment are likely to have been supported by healthy momentum in other liability, short-tail lines, professional liability, workers' compensation and commercial auto. We expect the metric to be $3.5 billion, indicating an increase of 3.6% from the year-ago reported number.
The Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment's gross premiums written are expected to have improved modestly, supported by selective underwriting, although increased competition in the property reinsurance market is likely to have tempered growth. We expect the metric to be $439.4 million, suggesting a decline of 0.9% from the year-ago reported number.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 premiums earned is pegged at $3.2 billion, indicating an increase of 1.8% from the year-ago reported quarter. Our estimate for the metric is pegged at $3.2 billion, indicating a 1.6% upside from the year-ago reported number.
The increase in income from fixed maturity securities, driven by a larger fixed maturity securities portfolio, the increase in income from investment funds primarily due to energy funds and real estate funds and an increase in equity securities are likely to have aided net investment income. However, a decrease in the arbitrage trading account, a decrease in real estate, and an increase in investment expenses are likely to have partially offset investment income growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 net investment income is pegged at $400 million, indicating an increase of 14% from the year-ago reported quarter. Our estimate for the metric is pegged at $384.3 million, indicating a 9.4% rise from the year-ago reported number.
Higher losses and loss expenses, other operating costs and expenses, and expenses from non-insurance businesses are likely to have increased in the quarter. We expect total expenses to increase 4.3% to $3.2 billion.
Higher net premiums earned and continued expense discipline are expected to have supported the expense ratio, which management expects to remain comfortably below 30% in 2026. We estimate the metric to be 29.15 in the to-be-reported quarter.
The combined ratio is expected to have remained favorable, supported by disciplined underwriting and healthy pricing in casualty lines.
However, the third quarter is likely to have experienced elevated severe convective storms, which are expected to have increased catastrophe losses, partially offsetting these benefits. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pinned at 92, while our estimate for the combined ratio is pegged at 92.77.
Continued share buybacks are likely to have provided additional support to the bottom line.
Other Stocks to ConsiderHere are three other P&C insurance stocks you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RNR - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +18.14% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $8.19, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 47.57%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
RNR’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.
Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +9.52% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.91, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 32.9%.
CINF’s earnings beat estimates in three of the last four reported quarters and missed in one.
Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +9.80% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $2.02, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 27.1%.
ACGL’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.
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The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.
A stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, for instance, even one with Scores of A and B, will still have a declining earnings forecast, and a greater chance its share price will fall too.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) Founded in 1967 and based in Greenwich, CT, W. R. Berkley is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. The company offers a variety of insurance services from reinsurance to workers’ compensation third-party administrators (TPAs) across the United States and in 87 other countries.
WRB is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
It also boasts a Value Style Score of B thanks to attractive valuation metrics like a forward P/E ratio of 14.88; value investors should take notice.
Five analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.07 to $4.90 per share. WRB also boasts an average earnings surprise of +8.4%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Value and VGM Style Scores, WRB should be on investors' short list.
W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended September 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.
The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on October 19. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.
While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise.
Zacks Consensus EstimateThis insurance company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.14 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +3.6%.
Revenues are expected to be $3.8 billion, up 3.1% from the year-ago quarter.
Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.68% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.
Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.
Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction).
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.
A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.
Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).
How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for W.R. Berkley?For W.R. Berkley, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +1.31%.
On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.
So, this combination indicates that W.R. Berkley will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.
Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.
For the last reported quarter, it was expected that W.R. Berkley would post earnings of $1.09 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.27, delivering a surprise of +16.51%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times.
Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.
That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
W.R. Berkley appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.
Expected Results of an Industry PlayerAmong the stocks in the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, Travelers (TRV - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $6.9 per share for the quarter ended September 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of -15.2%. This quarter's revenue is expected to be $12.4 billion, down 0.4% from the year-ago quarter.
The consensus EPS estimate for Travelers has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. However, a higher Most Accurate Estimate has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +0.77%.
This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggests that Travelers will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters.
Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.
W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) will release earnings for its third quarter after the closing bell on Monday, Oct. 19.
Analysts expect the Greenwich, Connecticut-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.16 per share, up from $1.10 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for WRB’s quarterly revenue is $3.23 billion. It reported $3.16 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.
On Sept. 10, W. R. Berkley declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of 10 cents per share.
W. R. Berkley shares fell 0.2% to close at $71.91 on Friday.
Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.
Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.
Mizuho analyst Yaron Kinar maintained a Neutral rating and cut the price target from $72 to $70 on Oct. 7, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 64%. Morgan Stanley analyst Bob Huang maintained an Equal-Weight rating and slashed the price target from $75 to $70 on Oct. 6, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 51%. UBS analyst Brian Meredith maintained the stock with a Neutral rating and raised the price target from $71 to $77 on July 27, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 68%. Wells Fargo analyst Elyse Greenspan maintained an Underweight rating and raised the price target from $67 to $68 on July 21, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 69%. Truist Securities analyst Mark Hughes maintained the stock with a Buy rating and increased the price target from $78 to $83 on July 21, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 75%. Considering buying WRB stock? Here’s what analysts think:
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Taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for new and old investors, and Zacks Premium offers many different ways to do both.
The research service features daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, all of which will help you become a smarter, more confident investor.
It also includes access to the Zacks Style Scores.
What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on -- that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum trading is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook, and these investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." The Momentum Style Score can pinpoint good times to build a position in a stock, using factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates.
VGM ScoreWhat if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock-rating model that harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors build a successful portfolio.
It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.86% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
With more than 800 top-rated stocks to choose from, it can certainly feel overwhelming to pick the ones that are right for you and your investing journey.
That's where the Style Scores come in.
To have the best chance of big returns, you'll want to always consider stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B, which will give you the highest probability of success. If you're looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, it's important they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.
Since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank, the direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy.
Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) Founded in 1967 and based in Greenwich, CT, W. R. Berkley is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. The company offers a variety of insurance services from reinsurance to workers’ compensation third-party administrators (TPAs) across the United States and in 87 other countries.
WRB is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
Momentum investors should take note of this Finance stock. WRB has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 2.9% over the past four weeks.
Six analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.11 to $4.90 per share. WRB also boasts an average earnings surprise of +8.4%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, WRB should be on investors' short list.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.56.
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research lowered W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, July 10th.
Read Our Latest Report on WRB
W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.1% WRB opened at $69.70 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.21%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,542,919,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,972,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $263,326,000 after buying an additional 377,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 3.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,768,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,757,000 after buying an additional 129,801 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 23.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,904,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $192,512,000 after acquiring an additional 550,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,790,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $195,661,000 after acquiring an additional 26,726 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
W.R. Berkley Company Profile (Get Free Report)
W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that specializes in commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through a group of operating units, the company provides coverage for businesses and organizations facing risks related to property damage, liability, workers’ compensation, transportation, professional services and other specialty exposures.
The company generally focuses on specialty and complex risks that may require tailored underwriting, industry expertise and customized policy structures.
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SummaryIn this monthly series, I rank a selection of dividend growth stocks and present the top 10 stocks for consideration.This month's feature screen highlights 10 top Dividend Growth stocks with 25+ years of increases and 5-year DGRs above 8%.These stocks are high quality, with 94% being investment-grade. All score above 7.9 on 9F Quality Scores, my quality scoring system.While their yields are modest, the group outperformed SPY over 5 years, driven by defensive strength during market downturns.I am considering adding to my LECO position; none of the candidates meet all criteria for new positions, but several stocks warrant further review. MicroStockHub/iStock via Getty Images
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GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) will release its third quarter 2026 earnings after the market closes on Monday, October 19, 2026. A copy of the earnings release will be available on the Company’s website at www.berkley.com.
The Company has scheduled its quarterly conference call with analysts and investors to discuss its earnings and other information on Monday, October 19, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. A live audio webcast of the conference call may be accessed via the Company’s website at www. berkley.com. Please log on early to register. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website approximately two hours after the end of the call.
Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates worldwide in two segments of the property casualty insurance business: Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess.
Waverly Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 89.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 55,907 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $3,542,919,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $435,752,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,972,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $263,326,000 after acquiring an additional 377,742 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,768,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $249,757,000 after acquiring an additional 129,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,790,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $195,661,000 after acquiring an additional 26,726 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages have issued reports on WRB. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research cut W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $70.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.83.
Read Our Latest Report on W.R. Berkley W.R. Berkley Stock Performance NYSE:WRB opened at $69.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $62.87 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.74. The company has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.28.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.
W.R. Berkley Company Profile (Free Report)
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of property and casualty insurance businesses. The company provides commercial insurance and reinsurance products for businesses, organizations and other insurance companies, with an emphasis on specialty and complex risks.
Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, excess and surplus lines, professional liability, workers’ compensation, commercial automobile insurance, marine insurance and other specialty products.
See Also Five stocks we like better than W.R. Berkley 3 Luxury Consumer Brands to Watch in a Beaten-Down Sector Jackson’s Record Quarter Powers the Bull Case Holiday Shopping Is Almost Here—And Target May Be Ready to Win Big AI Panic Hit Tech Stocks—But NVIDIA’s Growth Engine Is Intact Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report).
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California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 7,152.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,454,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,145,374 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 6.05% of W.R. Berkley worth $1,583,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at $29,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
W.R. Berkley Price Performance Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $69.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.96 and a 200-day moving average of $68.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $62.87 and a 12 month high of $78.96.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year. W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have commented on WRB shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $68.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research cut W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.94.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on WRB
W.R. Berkley Company Profile (Free Report)
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of property and casualty insurance businesses. The company provides commercial insurance and reinsurance products for businesses, organizations and other insurance companies, with an emphasis on specialty and complex risks.
Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, excess and surplus lines, professional liability, workers’ compensation, commercial automobile insurance, marine insurance and other specialty products.
Read More Five stocks we like better than W.R. Berkley Block Makes a Federal Trust Bank Move That Could Reshape Its Fintech Model Kroger’s Textbook Entry for Buy-and-Hold Investors AST SpaceMobile Looks to Extend Its 30-Day FCC Satellite Testing Window Amgen Drops 10% on a Trial It Didn’t Even Run Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report).
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Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.
What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics, each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F. The better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform; an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors are more concerned with a stock's future prospects, and the overall financial health and strength of a company. Thus, the Growth Style Score analyzes characteristics like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will see sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.
VGM ScoreWhat if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.
It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.8% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.
That's where the Style Scores come in.
To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.
The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.
For instance, a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one that boasts Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings forecast, and a much greater likelihood its share price will decline as well.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) Founded in 1967 and based in Greenwich, CT, W. R. Berkley is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. The company offers a variety of insurance services from reinsurance to workers’ compensation third-party administrators (TPAs) across the United States and in 87 other countries.
WRB is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
It also boasts a Value Style Score of B thanks to attractive valuation metrics like a forward P/E ratio of 14.38; value investors should take notice.
11 analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.21 to $4.87 per share. WRB boasts an average earnings surprise of +8.4%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Value and VGM Style Scores, WRB should be on investors' short list.
GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of 10 cents per share to be paid on September 30, 2026 to stockholders of record at the close of business on September 21, 2026. Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates two segments of the proper.
For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.
Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.
It also includes access to the Zacks Style Scores.
What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on -- that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors are more concerned with a stock's future prospects, and the overall financial health and strength of a company. Thus, the Growth Style Score analyzes characteristics like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will see sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.
VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.
It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.8% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.
That's where the Style Scores come in.
To have the best chance of big returns, you'll want to always consider stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B, which will give you the highest probability of success. If you're looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, it's important they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.
The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.
A stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, for instance, even one with Scores of A and B, will still have a declining earnings forecast, and a greater chance its share price will fall too.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) Founded in 1967 and based in Greenwich, CT, W. R. Berkley is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. The company offers a variety of insurance services from reinsurance to workers’ compensation third-party administrators (TPAs) across the United States and in 87 other countries.
WRB is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
Momentum investors should take note of this Finance stock. WRB has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 0.3% over the past four weeks.
For fiscal 2026, 11 analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.21 to $4.87 per share. WRB boasts an average earnings surprise of +8.4%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, WRB should be on investors' short list.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) and Slide Insurance (NASDAQ:SLDE – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.
Institutional & Insider Ownership 68.8% of W.R. Berkley shares are held by institutional investors. 25.1% of W.R. Berkley shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 50.8% of Slide Insurance shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings This table compares W.R. Berkley and Slide Insurance”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio W.R. Berkley $14.71 billion 1.72 $1.78 billion $4.87 13.99 Slide Insurance $1.16 billion 2.44 $443.96 million $4.10 5.90 W.R. Berkley has higher revenue and earnings than Slide Insurance. Slide Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than W.R. Berkley, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability This table compares W.R. Berkley and Slide Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets W.R. Berkley 12.94% 19.44% 4.28% Slide Insurance 40.02% 50.69% 18.39% Volatility & Risk W.R. Berkley has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Slide Insurance has a beta of 0.07, indicating that its share price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for W.R. Berkley and Slide Insurance, as reported by MarketBeat.
Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score W.R. Berkley 6 9 3 0 1.83 Slide Insurance 0 2 5 2 3.00 W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus target price of $70.94, suggesting a potential upside of 4.10%. Slide Insurance has a consensus target price of $25.40, suggesting a potential upside of 5.05%. Given Slide Insurance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Slide Insurance is more favorable than W.R. Berkley.
Dividends W.R. Berkley pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Slide Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. W.R. Berkley pays out 8.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Slide Insurance pays out 6.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. W.R. Berkley has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years. Slide Insurance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Summary Slide Insurance beats W.R. Berkley on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About W.R. Berkley (Get Free Report)
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. This segment also provides accident and health insurance and reinsurance products; insurance for commercial risks; casualty and specialty environmental products; specialized insurance coverages for fine arts and jewelry exposures; excess liability and inland marine coverage for small to medium-sized insureds; and commercial general liability, umbrella, professional liability, directors and officers, commercial property, and surety products, as well as products for technology, and life sciences and travel industries. In addition, this segment offers cyber risk solutions; crime and fidelity insurance products; medical professional coverages; workers' compensation insurance products; general insurance; personal lines insurance solutions, including home, condo/co-op, auto, and collectibles; automobile, law enforcement, public officials and educator's legal, and employment practices liability, as well as incidental medical and property and crime insurance products; at-risk and alternative risk insurance program management services; professional liability; energy and marine risks; and provides insurance products to the Lloyd's marketplace. The Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment provides treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions; property and casualty reinsurance; facultative reinsurance products include automatic, semi-automatic and individual risk assumed reinsurance; and turnkey products such as cyber, employment practices liability insurance, liquor liability insurance and violent events. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.
(Get Free Report)
Launched in 2021, we are a technology enabled, fast-growing, coastal specialty insurer. We focus on profitable underwriting of single family and condominium policies in the property and casualty (“P&C”) industry in coastal states along the Atlantic seaboard through our insurance subsidiary, Slide Insurance Company (“SIC”). We utilize our differentiated technology and data-driven approach to focus on market opportunities that are underserved by other insurance companies. We acquire policies both from inorganic block acquisitions and subsequent renewals, as well as new business sales through a combination of independent agents and our direct-to-consumer(“DTC”) channel, through which we sell our insurance products directly to end consumers, without the use of retailers, brokers, agents or other intermediaries. We do not depend on any one key product or product line within the coastal specialty homeowners insurance market. We control all aspects of our value chain, including technology, underwriting, actuarial, distribution, claims and risk management which allows us to maximize profitability while maintaining disciplined underwriting standards. Our goal is to deliver long-term value for stockholders by focusing on underserved, coastal specialty markets where market capacity is limited and demand for insurance products is high. Coastal specialty market demand for insurance products has increased over the last few years as the larger, national insurance carriers have reduced their underwriting capacity in such markets which has created a unique market opportunity for us to capitalize on the imbalance of supply and demand. A prime example of this market shift is Florida, where large national carriers have reduced their market share of premium from 62% in 1999 to 28% in 2022, creating an opportunity for accretive expansion. We have built a highly entrepreneurial company that we believe can identify and execute on such opportunities faster and more profitably than our competitors. We believe we have a significant technological advantage that allows us to assess, manage and price risk for individual and bulk policy acquisitions. Our technology is built to estimate future costs of policies and compare it back to our base rates to better understand profitability in real time on an individual risk basis and to assess large and/or bulk transactions. This technology permits us to only select policies that we believe to be profitable based on future reinsurance and all other perils (“AOP”) costs. Our underwriting technology has been an important component of our success and is backed by our proprietary $6 trillion total insured value (“TIV”) underwriting and claims dataset, which provides us with real-time intelligence to drive superior decision making. We believe that traditional markets inefficiently and inaccurately underwrite coastal specialty risks without properly understanding prospective loss ratios and reinsurance costs. We believe other insurance companies do not have the same ability to assess these metrics in real time and their technology limits their ability to consistently select profitable policies. We believe our underwriting technology allows us to more accurately assess the future cost of each policy, which enables us to focus on profitable growth opportunities often overlooked or mispriced by our competitors. We believe our proprietary technology combined with our highly experienced and entrepreneurial leadership team allow us to make better underwriting decisions that generate higher margins for our business. We market and write insurance policies through two channels: our independent agents and DTC. As we continue to scale our operations, we anticipate that our DTC distribution will grow as well through our focus on accretive market opportunities. We have significantly grown our business and scaled it profitably in our targeted coastal specialty markets by leveraging our seasoned management team, technology and strong balance sheet. We have grown our shareholders’ equity from $102 million at the end of 2021 to $433 million at the end of 2024, a compound annual growth rate (“CAGR”) of 62%. In this same time period, we have grown from $0 of in force premium to $1,334 million at the end of 2024, while running an average consolidated combined ratio of 80.3%. Our return on equity and combined ratio were 46.9% and 79.0% for 2023, and 60.0% and 72.3% for 2024, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2025, we had gross premiums written of $245 million and $278 million, policy fees of $1 million and $2 million, consolidated combined ratio of 66.7% and 58.9% and net income of $55 million and $93 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2025, we had total assets of $1.9 billion, shareholders’ equity of approximately $532 million and tangible shareholders’ equity of approximately $524 million. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, we had a return on equity of 19.2% and a return on tangible equity of 19.5%. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, we had gross premiums written of $875 million and $1,334 million, policy fees of $3 million and $7 million, consolidated combined ratio of 79.0% and 72.3% and net income of $87 million and $201 million respectively. As of December 31, 2024, we had total assets of $1.9 billion, shareholders’ equity of approximately $433 million and tangible shareholders’ equity of approximately $423 million. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we had a return on equity of 60.0% and a return on tangible equity of 62.6%. Our principal executive offices are located in Tampa, Florida.
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Key Takeaways W.R. Berkley posted an 88.1% current accident-year combined ratio excluding catastrophes in Q2 2026. WRB's decentralized model enables selective risk-taking and faster pricing and policy-term adjustments. Specialty-market expertise and expense discipline could help WRB preserve its underwriting advantage. W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRB - Free Report) can potentially sustain industry-leading underwriting margins even as pricing softens, but the source of margin strength is likely to shift from broad-based rate increases toward underwriting selectivity, specialty-market expertise and expense discipline.
WRB's decentralized underwriting model allows individual businesses to walk away from inadequately priced risks. This is particularly important as the market becomes more competitive. In the second quarter of 2026, WRB generated an 88.1% current accident-year combined ratio excluding catastrophes and $317.5 million of pre-tax underwriting income, up 21.8% year over year.
WRB operates through more than 50 specialized businesses, each focused on particular products or industries. This structure gives underwriters deep knowledge of individual risks and enables the company to adjust pricing and policy terms more quickly than a highly centralized model.
As standard-market pricing softens, WRB can emphasize E&S, specialty casualty, professional liability, industry-specific insurance and other complex risks, where specialized underwriting expertise is more valuable, and competition is less commoditized. Its recently formed Berkley Meridian, which combines Verus Specialty and Vela Insurance Services, further strengthens its specialty-market capabilities.
Importantly, WRB's margin advantage does not appear to depend entirely on continued rate increases. The strong second quarter of 2026 underwriting results provide evidence that portfolio selection, risk management and underwriting expertise are important structural advantages. These capabilities should help WRB remain selective as pricing conditions deteriorate.
WRB is better positioned than many peers to withstand a softer pricing environment because it can prioritize risk-adjusted returns over premium growth. While underwriting margins may moderate from exceptionally strong levels, disciplined risk selection, specialty-market exposure, and expense control should help WRB maintain above-industry profitability and preserve a strong underwriting advantage.
What About Its Peers?Everest Group, Ltd. (EG - Free Report) appears capable of sustaining underwriting profitability despite slower premium growth, supported by disciplined portfolio management, selective risk-taking and an improving business mix. Everest’s margin strength is therefore shifting from favorable pricing toward underwriting discipline, portfolio optimization and business-mix improvement. Sustained underwriting profitability despite lower premiums would indicate that portfolio restructuring is producing a more profitable and capital-efficient book of business.
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV - Free Report) has maintained strong, relatively consistent underwriting profitability, making underwriting income an important driver of its overall earnings. Its underwriting profitability is supported by disciplined pricing, risk selection and improving claims experience across its insurance businesses. Travelers is likely to sustain above-average underwriting profitability because its results are increasingly supported by structural factors like pricing discipline, sophisticated risk selection, expense efficiency and diversified underwriting, rather than simply favorable catastrophe experience.
WRB’s Price PerformanceShares of WRB have lost 4.7% in the past year against the industry’s growth of 1.8%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
WRB’s Expensive ValuationThe stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-book ratio of 2.58, above the industry average of 1.43.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimate Movement for WRBThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB’s third-quarter and fourth-quarter 2026 EPS has moved up 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively, in the past 30 days. The same for full-year 2026 EPS has moved up 1%, while the same for 2027 EPS has moved down 0.2% in the past 30 days.
The consensus estimate for WRB’s 2026 EPS and revenues indicates a year-over-year increase.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
WRB stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.
The research service features daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, all of which will help you become a smarter, more confident investor.
Zacks Premium also includes the Zacks Style Scores.
What are the Zacks Style Scores? Developed alongside the Zacks Rank, the Zacks Style Scores are a group of complementary indicators that help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics, each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F. The better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform; an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.
VGM ScoreWhat if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.
#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
But it can feel overwhelming to pick the right stocks for you and your investing goals with over 800 top-rated stocks to choose from.
That's where the Style Scores come in.
You want to make sure you're buying stocks with the highest likelihood of success, and to do that, you'll need to pick stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you like a stock that only has a #3 (Hold) rank, it should also have Scores of A or B to guarantee as much upside potential as possible.
The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.
Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) Founded in 1967 and based in Greenwich, CT, W.R. Berkley Corp. is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. The company offers a variety of insurance services from reinsurance to workers’ comp third-party administrators (TPAs) across the United States and in 87 other countries.
WRB is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
It also boasts a Value Style Score of B thanks to attractive valuation metrics like a forward P/E ratio of 14.37; value investors should take notice.
10 analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.17 to $4.84 per share. WRB also boasts an average earnings surprise of +8.4%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Value and VGM Style Scores, WRB should be on investors' short list.
A month has gone by since the last earnings report for W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 2.8% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is W.R. Berkley due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for W.R. Berkley Corporation before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
WRB Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher Premiums, Investment Income
W.R. Berkley Corporation reported second-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.27 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.5%. The bottom line increased 21% year over year.
The insurer benefited from higher premiums, strong investment income growth and lower catastrophe losses.
Behind the Headlines
W.R. Berkley’s net premiums written were about $3.4 billion, up 2.4% year over year. The figure surpassed our estimate of $3.4 billion.
Operating revenues totalled $ 3.8 billion, up 3.6% year over year, driven by higher net premiums earned, improved net investment income, and higher revenues from non-insurance businesses. The top line surpassed the consensus estimate by 1.87%.
Net investment income grew 10.4% to $418.7 million, supported by higher invested assets and higher portfolio yields. The figure topped our estimate of $407 million. The consensus estimate was $395.6 million.
Total expenses declined 0.3% to $3.1 billion, reflecting lower other operating costs and interest expense, partly offset by higher loss and loss expenses. The figure was lower than our estimate of $3.20 billion.
The loss ratio improved 160 basis points (bps) to 61.5, while the expense ratio remained flat year over year at 28.5.
Catastrophe losses of $62.4 million were lower than the $99.2 million incurred in the year-ago quarter. The consolidated combined ratio improved 160 basis points year over year to 90, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92.
Q2 Segment Details
Net premiums written at the Insurance segment increased 3.7% year over year to $3.12 billion in the quarter, primarily driven by higher premiums from other liability, short-tail lines, auto and professional liability. The figure was slightly higher than our estimate.
The combined ratio deteriorated 70 basis points year over year to 91.4. Our estimate was 94.1.
Net premiums written in the Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment decreased 9.3% year over year to $306.3 million. The figure missed our estimate of $393.8 million.
The combined ratio improved 810 bps to 79.3, which was lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Our estimate for the metric was 86.1.
WRB's Financial Update
W.R. Berkley exited the second quarter of 2026 with total assets worth $45.7 billion compared with $43.9 billion at the 2025-end level.
Senior notes and other debt increased 0.01% from the 2025-end levels to $1.83 billion.
Book value per share increased 3% from 2025-end levels to $26.50.
Cash flow from operations was $800 million, up 13.7% year over year.
Operating return on equity in the second quarter increased 50 basis points year over year to 20.5%.
Capital Deployment
Total capital returned to shareholders was $334.1 million, consisting of $111.5 million in share repurchases, $37.1 million in regular dividends and $185.5 million in special dividends.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates revision.
VGM ScoresAt this time, W.R. Berkley has a average Growth Score of C, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with an A. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock has a score of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, W.R. Berkley has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry PlayerW.R. Berkley is part of the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry. Over the past month, Progressive (PGR - Free Report) , a stock from the same industry, has gained 0.7%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended June 2026 more than a month ago.
Progressive reported revenues of $23.01 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +6.4%. EPS of $4.85 for the same period compares with $4.88 a year ago.
Progressive is expected to post earnings of $3.62 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -10.6%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.5%.
Progressive has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of C.
Key Takeaways WRB's Insurance segment generated $11.18 billion in 2025 net premiums written, up from 2024. The Insurance segment's 91.7% combined ratio in 2025 reflected strong underwriting profitability. WRB combines underwriting earnings with investment income to support profitable growth and returns. W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRB - Free Report) , one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property and casualty insurance providers, offers a variety of insurance services, from reinsurance to workers’ comp third-party administrators across the United States. The insurance segment is W.R. Berkley’s core earnings engine, generating the majority of its premiums and underwriting income.
In 2025, the segment generated $11.18 billion in net premiums written, up from $10.55 billion in 2024. Its 91.7% combined ratio reflected strong underwriting profitability.
The segment continued to perform well in the first half of 2026, with net premiums written rising 3.4% year over year.
W.R. Berkley’s Insurance segment is the company’s primary revenue-generating business, as it provides a broad range of property and casualty insurance products to commercial customers. The segment earns revenues primarily by collecting premiums from policyholders in exchange for providing coverage against various risks.
A key advantage of the Insurance segment is its focus on disciplined underwriting and specialized risk selection, which enables Berkley to pursue premium growth while maintaining underwriting profitability rather than relying solely on higher policy volumes to increase revenues.
The Insurance segment supports Berkley through two complementary channels: underwriting earnings from insurance operations and investment income from investing premiums before claims are paid. The combination of underwriting income and investment income supports WRB’s ability to generate attractive returns on equity.
Overall, the Insurance segment aids W.R. Berkley by generating substantial premium revenues, producing underwriting profits through disciplined risk selection and creating investable funds that generate additional investment income. This combination helps WRB achieve profitable growth and strengthens its overall earnings base.
What About Its Peers?Axis Capital Holdings Limited (AXS - Free Report) , a global specialty underwriter, has a strategic focus on specialty products, including professional liability, cyber insurance, marine and aviation. AXS has been witnessing an increase in its top line over a considerable period of time on the back of higher net premiums. Its well-performing Insurance segment largely contributes to improving premiums. It continues to boost shareholder value through stock buybacks and dividend hikes.
Palomar Holdings, Inc. (PLMR - Free Report) has been displaying a good track record of net written premiums due to increased volume of policies written across the lines of business, driven by new business generated with existing partners, strong premium retention rates for existing business, expansion of its products’ geographic and distribution footprint, and new partnerships. Backed by sustained operational performance, the company has maintained a solid capital position.
WRB’s Price PerformanceShares of WRB have lost 2.5% in the past year against the industry’s growth of 4.3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
WRB’s Expensive ValuationThe stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-book value multiple of 2.63, higher than the industry average of 1.42.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimate Movement for WRBThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB’s third-quarter 2026 EPS has moved down 0.9%, while the same for fourth-quarter 2026 EPS has moved up 1.7% in the past 60 days. The same for full-year 2026 EPS has moved up 3.4%, while the same for 2027 EPS has moved down 0.2% in the past 60 days.
The consensus estimate for WRB’s 2026 EPS and revenues indicates a year-over-year increase.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
WRB stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 129.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,568 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.94.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on WRB
W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.8% Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $71.58 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.48 and its 200-day moving average is $68.75. The stock has a market cap of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.21%.
W.R. Berkley Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than W.R. Berkley Datadog’s Drop Says More About Expectations Than Earnings D-Wave’s Quantum Breakthrough Couldn’t Save QBTS From a Sell-Off Cloudflare’s Beat-and-Raise Quarter Puts Its AI Edge Story in Focus Solventum Nears Inflection Point As It Begins to Unlock Value Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report).
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GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today announced the appointment of Christopher L. Moede as president of Berkley Risk. He succeeds John (“Jack”) M. Goodwin, who has been named chairman of the business. The appointments are effective immediately. Mr. Moede has more than 20 years of effective leadership experience in the commercial insurance market. Most recently, he led a global underwriting segment at a major multinational insurer. Mr. Goodwin joined Berk.
GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today announced the appointment of Daniel R. Westcott as executive vice president. Robert R. Coyne, Jr. will succeed Mr. Westcott as president of Berkley Re America. In addition, Robert C. Hewitt, executive vice president of the Company, has been named chairman of Berkley Re. The appointments are effective immediately. Mr. Westcott has nearly 30 years of experience in the property casualty reinsurance market. He joined Ber.
Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,220,000.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,801,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $1,630,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $65,233,000. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 105.4% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 29,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 15,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 634,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,991,000 after acquiring an additional 41,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
W.R. Berkley Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $75.48 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.43.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.21%.
More W.R. Berkley News Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:
Positive Sentiment: WRB is being highlighted as a top long-term momentum stock, with coverage pointing to strong style scores and market-beating characteristics that can support investor demand. Article Title Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary are reacting favorably to W.R. Berkley’s Q2 results, with reports saying the earnings beat and ongoing share buybacks are reinforcing the bull case and leading some firms to raise price targets. Article Title Positive Sentiment: WRB is also being described as a strong value stock and a portfolio “ballast,” which may appeal to investors looking for quality, defensive exposure in property and casualty insurance. Article Title Neutral Sentiment: One report compares W.R. Berkley with Allstate on value metrics, which is more of a relative-stock-selection piece than a clear catalyst for the shares. Article Title Neutral Sentiment: Another article notes that W.R. Berkley’s baby bonds offer 7%+ yields at investment-grade risk, which supports the company’s credit profile but is unlikely to move the common stock materially on its own. Article Title Negative Sentiment: There is some caution in the analyst community, as one report says W.R. Berkley currently carries an average rating of “Reduce,” suggesting valuation or upside concerns remain. Article Title Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages recently commented on WRB. Argus lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.44.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WRB
W.R. Berkley Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
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Momentum ScoreMomentum trading is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook, and these investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." The Momentum Style Score can pinpoint good times to build a position in a stock, using factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates.
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Stock to Watch: W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) Founded in 1967 and based in Greenwich, CT, W.R. Berkley Corp. is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. The company offers a variety of insurance services from reinsurance to workers’ comp third-party administrators (TPAs) across the United States and in 87 other countries.
WRB is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
Momentum investors should take note of this Finance stock. WRB has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 6% over the past four weeks.
For fiscal 2026, five analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.08 to $4.75 per share. WRB boasts an average earnings surprise of +8.4%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, WRB should be on investors' short list.
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,768,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,801 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.01% of W.R. Berkley worth $249,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
W.R. Berkley Stock Performance Shares of WRB stock opened at $73.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.40.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have commented on WRB shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.44.
Check Out Our Latest Report on W.R. Berkley
W.R. Berkley Profile (Free Report)
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.
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than W.R. Berkley Premium Retail’s Stress Test Is Separating Winners From Losers D-Wave Quantum or a Quantum ETF: Which Is the Better Bet? GE Vernova Just Sent a Mixed AI Signal to Investors Alphabet Crushed Earnings, But One Number Spooked the Market Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report).
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The research service features daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, all of which will help you become a smarter, more confident investor.
Zacks Premium also includes the Zacks Style Scores.
What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum trading is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook, and these investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." The Momentum Style Score can pinpoint good times to build a position in a stock, using factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates.
VGM ScoreIf you like to use all three kinds of investing, then the VGM Score is for you. It's a combination of all Style Scores, and is an important indicator to use with the Zacks Rank. The VGM Score rates each stock on their shared weighted styles, narrowing down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock-rating model that harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors build a successful portfolio.
#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
With more than 800 top-rated stocks to choose from, it can certainly feel overwhelming to pick the ones that are right for you and your investing journey.
That's where the Style Scores come in.
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Stock to Watch: W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) Founded in 1967 and based in Greenwich, CT, W.R. Berkley Corp. is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the nation’s largest commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. The company offers a variety of insurance services from reinsurance to workers’ comp third-party administrators (TPAs) across the United States and in 87 other countries.
WRB is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.
It also boasts a Value Style Score of B thanks to attractive valuation metrics like a forward P/E ratio of 15.27; value investors should take notice.
Four analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.07 to $4.74 per share. WRB also boasts an average earnings surprise of +8.4%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Value and VGM Style Scores, WRB should be on investors' short list.
California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 502,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 270,746 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of W.R. Berkley worth $33,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,596,795,000 after purchasing an additional 309,828 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,143,256,000 after buying an additional 149,605 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $435,752,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,913,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $344,523,000 after buying an additional 20,538 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
W.R. Berkley Stock Performance NYSE WRB opened at $72.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $62.87 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.29.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.21%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets WRB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Brean Capital cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.44.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on W.R. Berkley
More W.R. Berkley News Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:
Positive Sentiment: WRB beat Q2 earnings expectations and posted better-than-expected revenue, suggesting solid underlying business momentum and stronger-than-anticipated underwriting results. Positive Sentiment: The quarter benefited from premium growth, higher investment income, and lower catastrophe losses, all of which are favorable for insurers’ profitability. Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the report, with Truist raising its price target to $83 and maintaining a buy rating, while Mizuho also lifted its target to $74. Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted that revenue missed certain Wall Street expectations in a separate headline, but the earnings beat and strong insurance fundamentals appear to be outweighing that concern. About W.R. Berkley (Free Report)
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.
See Also Five stocks we like better than W.R. Berkley Confidence Is Back, But Earnings Show the Consumer Is Being Picky AeroVironment’s Stock Is Down, But Drone Demand Is Taking Off 3M’s Redemption Arc: Can Q2 Earnings Change the Narrative? 3 Photonics Companies Making Quantum Tech Possible Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report).
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Key Takeaways WRB's Q2 revenues rose 3.6% as premium growth and investment income topped estimates. Lower catastrophe losses and a 90 combined ratio supported underwriting profitability.WRB returned $334.1 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.27 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.5%. The bottom line increased 21% year over year.
The insurer benefited from higher premiums, strong investment income growth and lower catastrophe losses.
Behind the HeadlinesW.R. Berkley’s net premiums written were about $3.4 billion, up 2.4% year over year. The figure surpassed our estimate of $3.4 billion.
Operating revenues totalled $ 3.8 billion, up 3.6% year over year, driven by higher net premiums earned, improved net investment income, and higher revenues from non-insurance businesses. The top line surpassed the consensus estimate by 1.87%.
Net investment income grew 10.4% to $418.7 million, supported by higher invested assets and higher portfolio yields. The figure topped our estimate of $407 million. The consensus estimate was $395.6 million.
Total expenses declined 0.3% to $3.1 billion, reflecting lower other operating costs and interest expense, partly offset by higher loss and loss expenses. The figure was lower than our estimate of $3.20 billion.
The loss ratio improved 160 basis points (bps) to 61.5, while the expense ratio remained flat year over year at 28.5.
Catastrophe losses of $62.4 million were lower than the $99.2 million incurred in the year-ago quarter. The consolidated combined ratio (a measure of underwriting profitability) improved 160 basis points year over year to 90, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92.
Q2 Segment DetailsNet premiums written at the Insurance segment increased 3.7% year over year to $3.12 billion in the quarter, primarily driven by higher premiums from other liability, short-tail lines, auto and professional liability. The figure was slightly higher than our estimate.
The combined ratio deteriorated 70 basis points year over year to 91.4. Our estimate was 94.1.
Net premiums written in the Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment decreased 9.3% year over year to $306.3 million. The figure missed our estimate of $393.8 million.
The combined ratio improved 810 bps to 79.3, which was lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Our estimate for the metric was 86.1.
WRB's Financial UpdateW.R. Berkley exited the second quarter of 2026 with total assets worth $45.7 billion compared with $43.9 billion at the 2025-end level.
Senior notes and other debt increased 0.01% from the 2025-end levels to $1.83 billion.
Book value per share increased 3% from 2025-end levels to $26.50.
Cash flow from operations was $800 million, up 13.7% year over year.
Operating return on equity in the second quarter increased 50 basis points year over year to 20.5%.
Capital DeploymentTotal capital returned to shareholders was $334.1 million, consisting of $111.5 million in share repurchases, $37.1 million in regular dividends and $185.5 million in special dividends.
WRB’s Zacks RankW.R. Berkley currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other InsurersThe Progressive Corporation’s (PGR - Free Report) second-quarter 2026 earnings per share of $4.85 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.2%. The bottom line, however, decreased 6.1% year over year. Net premiums written were $21.1 billion in the quarter, up 5% from $20.1 billion a year ago.
Net premiums earned grew 6% to $21.6 billion. The reported figure met the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Net realized gains on securities were $604 million, up 56% year over year. Combined ratio — the percentage of premiums paid out as claims and expenses — deteriorated 110 basis points from the prior-year quarter’s level to 87.1.
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 core income of $10.04 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.21 by 92.7%. The bottom line climbed 54% year over year. Revenues of $12.09 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.27 billion by 1.5%.
Net investment income rose 14% year over year to $1.07 billion pre-tax ($883 million after tax). The combined ratio improved 670 basis points year over year to 83.6%, reflecting lower catastrophe losses, stronger reserve development and a better underlying combined ratio.
Upcoming ReleasesCincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +7.2% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.82, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 7.6%.
CINF’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.
For the quarter ended June 2026, W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) reported revenue of $3.77 billion, up 3.6% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.27, compared to $1.05 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.7 billion, representing a surprise of +1.87%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +16.51%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $1.09.
While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how W.R. Berkley performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Loss ratio - Total: 61.5% versus 63.3% estimated by three analysts on average.Expense Ratio - Total: 28.5% versus 28.7% estimated by three analysts on average.Combined Ratio - Total: 90% versus the three-analyst average estimate of 92%.Loss ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess: 49.2% compared to the 57.3% average estimate based on two analysts.Expense ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess: 30.1% versus 29.8% estimated by two analysts on average.Revenues from non-insurance businesses: $134.43 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $134.82 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +4.3%.Insurance service fees: $30.62 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $33.62 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -6.5%.Net premiums earned: $3.19 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $3.16 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +2.9%.Net investment income: $418.71 million compared to the $395.62 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +10.4% year over year.Net premiums earned- Reinsurance & Monoline Excess: $361.36 million versus $377.5 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -2.2% change.Other income (loss): $0.16 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $0.71 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -78.8%.Net premiums earned- Insurance: $2.83 billion compared to the $2.76 billion average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +3.6% year over year.View all Key Company Metrics for W.R. Berkley here>>>
Shares of W.R. Berkley have returned +6.6% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.6% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.
Palomar’s High-Risk Insurance Strategy Is Paying Off BigW.R. Berkley NYSE: WRB reported higher second-quarter 2026 operating earnings, record investment income and continued premium growth in its insurance segment, while management cautioned that competition is intensifying in parts of the property and reinsurance markets.
On the company’s earnings call, Chairman, CEO and President Rob Berkley opened by acknowledging the death of company founder Bill Berkley, thanking investors and others for their support. He said Bill Berkley’s “spirit, values, and priorities remain foundational” to the company and emphasized that the business had been institutionalized as “a team sport, not an individual one.”
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Operating Earnings Rise 21% The Smart Glasses Gold Rush Is Leaving Old-School Eyewear BehindExecutive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Rich Baio said operating earnings per diluted share rose 21% to $1.27, or $497 million. That produced an annualized return on beginning-of-year equity of 20.5%.
Baio said the quarter benefited from what he described as the company’s second-best quarterly pretax underwriting income, at $318 million, and record quarterly pretax net investment income of $419 million. Stockholders’ equity rose to a record of more than $9.8 billion.
S&P 500's surge to new highs: Bull trap hiding in plain sight?The company returned $334 million of capital to shareholders during the quarter through regular and special dividends and share repurchases. Baio said that included $223 million in regular and special dividends and about $111 million in share repurchases. Over the prior 12 months, the company returned more than $1.3 billion, or roughly 14% of stockholders’ equity, and nearly 70% of first-half 2026 earnings.
Underwriting performance included a current accident year combined ratio excluding catastrophe losses of 88.1% and a calendar-year combined ratio of 90%. Catastrophe losses declined to $62 million, or 2 loss ratio points, from 3.2 points in the prior-year quarter. The current accident year loss ratio excluding catastrophes was 59.6%, compared with 59.9% a year earlier. The expense ratio was flat at 28.5%.
Insurance Segment Grows, Reinsurance Shrinks Baio said the insurance segment generated record gross premiums written of $3.8 billion, up 5.4%, while net premiums written increased 3.7% to a record $3.1 billion. The segment’s current accident year loss ratio excluding catastrophe losses was 61%, comparable with the first quarter. Its expense ratio was 28.3%, flat with the prior year, producing a current accident year combined ratio excluding catastrophe losses of 89.3%.
By contrast, Baio said the Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment continued to face “heightened competition” in both property and casualty lines, resulting in a decline in net premiums written to $306 million. However, lower catastrophe and non-catastrophe property losses supported an underlying current accident year combined ratio excluding catastrophes of 78.7%.
Rob Berkley said market conditions remain highly fragmented by product line, increasing the importance of underwriting expertise and discipline. He expressed concern about parts of the managing general underwriter, or MGU, model, citing delegated authority and what he called a lack of alignment of interests. He said the most concerning behavior is in property, particularly shared and layered programs, and said some of that pressure is spreading into other property markets.
In casualty, Berkley said the broader market remains more disciplined and attractive, though he pointed to habitational and liquor liability as isolated areas of concern, citing examples where rates were being cut by 20% to 30%. He also said reinsurance is “particularly concerning,” with property eroding rapidly and casualty not having experienced the same earlier pricing improvement as property.
Rate Increases Moderate as Company Pursues Growth Berkley said top-line growth is being driven by the insurance business, with growth in the mid-single digits. He said the company’s rate increase in the quarter, excluding workers’ compensation, was 3.8%.
He cautioned against overreacting to the lower rate figure, saying it was consistent with management’s prior comments. Berkley said that where the company sees attractive margins, its priority is to increase exposure or policy count while still seeking rate increases, though “not pressing down on it as hard.”
During the question-and-answer session, Berkley said management is encouraged by early July top-line trends but acknowledged that the month was not complete. He said the company has “considerable room” to adjust rates where margins warrant it, but would not do so prematurely. He described the approach as an effort to optimize between rate and growth.
Berkley said renewal retention remains around 80%, suggesting a stable book of business. Asked about whether pricing changes were concentrated in short-tail or casualty lines, he said the company’s actions were more granular than that, using “a scalpel” rather than “a cleaver” and assessing opportunities by subclasses and geography.
In commercial auto, Berkley said the company is taking significantly more rate than the aggregate figures may suggest, while exposure is coming down “pretty quickly.” He said the auto line also includes Berkley One, which offsets some of the commercial auto dynamics.
Investment Income Hits Record Baio said net invested assets rose to $34.2 billion, aided by strong operating cash flow despite significant capital returns. Operating cash flow was $800 million in the quarter, up from $700 million in the comparable period, according to Rob Berkley.
Income from the core investment portfolio rose 13% from the prior year to $371 million, while investment funds increased 5.6% to $28.8 million. Baio said the credit quality of the portfolio remains strong at double-A-minus. The duration of the fixed maturity portfolio, including cash and equivalents, increased to 3.2 years, still below the 3.9-year average life of insurance reserves.
Rob Berkley said the company has a “fair amount of room” to extend duration if appropriate. He added that new money rates are above the domestic book yield of 4.8%, which he said provides further upside for investment income.
Management Highlights AI Investments Berkley said the company is making significant investments in technology, data and artificial intelligence while keeping the expense ratio at 30% or better. He said the company does not intend to build its own large language model, but instead plans to use available tools and apply them across its roughly 60 operating businesses.
He cited underwriting workbenches as one area of progress, saying the company has seen early efficiency gains of more than 20% where the technology has been implemented. In claims, he said the company is using AI and other tools to move toward straight-through processing where appropriate, noting that about 50% of claims settle for $5,000 or less.
Looking ahead, Berkley said some parts of the market, especially property, may become more difficult. However, he said the company continues to see opportunities in much of the casualty market and in selected short-tail areas, including accident and health and private client personal lines.
About W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB)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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.27 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.05 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +16.51%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this insurance company would post earnings of $1.13 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.3, delivering a surprise of +15.04%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.
W.R. Berkley, which belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, posted revenues of $3.77 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.87%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $3.64 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
W.R. Berkley shares have added about 2.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.9%.
What's Next for W.R. Berkley?While W.R. Berkley has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for W.R. Berkley was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.11 on $3.79 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $4.66 on $14.98 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Insurance - Property and Casualty is currently in the top 42% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Selective Insurance (SIGI - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on July 23.
This insurance holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.72 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +31.3%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Selective Insurance's revenues are expected to be $1.36 billion, up 3% from the year-ago quarter.
GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today reported its second quarter 2026 results. Summary Financial Data (Amounts in thousands, except per share data) Second Quarter Six Months 2026 2025 2026 2025 Gross premiums written $ 4,144,000 $ 3,977,769 $ 7,929,766 $ 7,661,708 Net premiums written 3,430,234 3,351,439 6,604,580 6,484,742 Net income to common stockholders 452,261 401,288 967,478 818,860 Net.
W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) will release its second quarter earnings report after the closing bell on Monday, July 20.
Analysts expect the Greenwich, Connecticut-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.08 per share, up from $1.05 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for W. R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue is $3.2 billion. It reported $3.1 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.
On July 13, W. R. Berkley named Paul J. Stock as president of Carolina Casualty.
Shares of W. R. Berkley rose 0.1% to close at $69.90 on Thursday.
Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.
Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.
Considering buying WRB stock? Here’s what analysts think:
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Key Takeaways W.R. Berkley is expected to report Q2 revenue growth of 1.7% and EPS growth of 3.8%.Premium growth and higher investment income may offset higher catastrophe losses.WRB's disciplined underwriting, expense control and share buybacks are expected to aid profitability. W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB - Free Report) is expected to register an improvement in both top and bottom lines when it reports second-quarter 2026 results on July 20, after market close.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB’s second-quarter revenues is pegged at $3.7 billion, indicating 1.7% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.09 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB’s second-quarter earnings has remained unchanged over the past 30 days. The estimate suggests a year-over-year increase of 3.8%.
What the Zacks Model Unveils About WRBOur proven model predict an earnings beat for W.R. Berkley this time around. A stock needs to have the right combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold). This is not the case, as you can see below:
Earnings ESP: W.R. Berkley has an Earnings ESP of +1.84%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate of $1.11 is pegged higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: W.R. Berkley currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Factors Likely to Shape Q2 Results of WRBGross premiums written in the Insurance segment are likely to have been supported by healthy momentum in other liability, short-tail lines, professional liability, workers' compensation and commercial auto. We expect the metric to be $3.6 billion, indicating an increase of 1.8% from the year-ago reported number.
The Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment's gross premiums written are expected to have improved modestly, supported by selective underwriting, although increased competition in the property reinsurance market is likely to have tempered growth. We expect the metric to be $375 million, suggesting an improvement of 1.1% from the year-ago reported number.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 premiums earned is pegged at $3.16 billion, indicating an increase of 1.9% from the year-ago reported quarter. Our estimate for the metric is pegged at $3.12 billion, indicating a 0.7% upside from the year-ago reported number.
The increase in income from fixed-maturity securities, investment funds, arbitrage trading accounts, real estate and equity securities is likely to have aided net investment income. Strong operating cash flows and higher reinvestment yields are expected to have further supported investment income growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 net investment income is pegged at $395 million, indicating an increase of 4.3% from the year-ago reported quarter.Our estimate for the metric is pegged at $407 million, indicating a 7.3% upside from the year-ago reported number.
Higher losses and loss expenses, other operating costs and expenses, and expenses from non-insurance businesses are likely to increase costs. We expect total expenses to increased 1.7% to $3.2 billion.
Higher net premiums earned and continued expense discipline are expected to have supported the expense ratio, which management expects to remain comfortably below 30% in 2026. We estimate the metric to be 28.30 in the to-be-reported quarter.
The combined ratio is expected to have remained favorable, supported by disciplined underwriting and healthy pricing in casualty lines. However, the second quarter likely experienced elevated severe convective storm , which is likely to have increased catastrophe losses, partially offsetting these benefits. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pinned at 92, while our estimate for the combined ratio is pegged at 93.39.
Continued share buybacks are likely to have provided additional support to the bottom line.
Stocks to ConsiderHere are three P&C insurance stocks you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:
Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +8.84% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.77, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 10.1%.
CINF’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.
Chubb Limited (CB - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.09% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $6.60, indicating a year-over-year increase of 7.4%.
CB’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.
The Allstate Corporation (ALL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +23.32% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $4.92, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 17.1%.
ALL’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four reported quarters.
Wall Street analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) will report quarterly earnings of $1.09 per share in its upcoming release, pointing to a year-over-year increase of 3.8%. It is anticipated that revenues will amount to $3.7 billion, exhibiting an increase of 1.7% compared to the year-ago quarter.
Over the past 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been adjusted downward by 0.2% to its current level. This demonstrates the covering analysts' collective reassessment of their initial projections during this period.
Ahead of a company's earnings disclosure, it is crucial to give due consideration to changes in earnings estimates. These revisions serve as a noteworthy factor in predicting potential investor reactions to the stock. Numerous empirical studies consistently demonstrate a strong relationship between trends in earnings estimate revision and the short-term price performance of a stock.
While investors usually depend on consensus earnings and revenue estimates to assess the business performance for the quarter, delving into analysts' forecasts for certain key metrics often provides a more comprehensive understanding.
With that in mind, let's delve into the average projections of some W.R. Berkley metrics that are commonly tracked and projected by analysts on Wall Street.
The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Revenues from non-insurance businesses' will likely reach $134.82 million. The estimate suggests a change of +4.6% year over year.
It is projected by analysts that the 'Insurance service fees' will reach $33.62 million. The estimate indicates a change of +2.6% from the prior-year quarter.
The consensus estimate for 'Net premiums earned' stands at $3.16 billion. The estimate points to a change of +2% from the year-ago quarter.
The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Net investment income' of $395.62 million. The estimate suggests a change of +4.3% year over year.
Analysts forecast 'Loss ratio - Total' to reach 63.3%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 63.1% in the same quarter last year.
Analysts predict that the 'Expense Ratio - Total' will reach 28.7%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 28.5% in the same quarter last year.
According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Combined Ratio - Total' should come in at 92.0%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 91.6% in the same quarter last year.
Analysts' assessment points toward 'Loss ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess' reaching 57.3%. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported 57.7% in the same quarter of the previous year.
Analysts expect 'Expense ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess' to come in at 29.8%. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 29.7%.
The average prediction of analysts places 'Combined Ratio - Reinsurance & Monoline Excess' at 87.1%. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 87.4%.
The consensus among analysts is that 'Expense ratio - Insurance' will reach 28.5%. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 28.3%.
Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Loss Ratio - Insurance Segment' should arrive at 64.7%. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 63.8%.
View all Key Company Metrics for W.R. Berkley here>>>
Over the past month, shares of W.R. Berkley have returned +5.3% versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.6% change. Currently, WRB carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), suggesting that it may underperform the overall market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
