Yahoo Finance Should You Retain W.R. Berkley (WRB) Stock in Your Portfolio?
W.R. Berkley Corporation WRB has been benefiting from higher premiums, lower claims frequency in certain lines of business, growth in exposure, effective capital deployment and sufficient liquidity.
Growth Projections
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for W.R. Berkley’s 2024 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 18.9% from the consensus estimate of 2023. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $13.36 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 10.4% from the consensus mark of 2023.
The consensus estimate for 2025 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 8.5% from the consensus estimate of 2024. The estimate for 2025 revenues is pinned at $14.17 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 6.1% from the consensus mark of 2024.
Earnings Surprise History
WRB has a decent earnings surprise history. It surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 9.81%.
Zacks Rank & Price Performance
W.R. Berkley currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past year, the stock has gained 33.2% compared with the industry’s growth of 25.1%.
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Style Score
WRB has a VGM Score of B. The VGM Score helps identify stocks with the most attractive value, best growth and the most promising momentum.
Business Tailwinds
The Insurance business of W.R. Berkley is well-poised to grow, given higher premiums from other liability, short-tail lines, workers' compensation, commercial automobile and professional liability.
Higher premiums at casualty reinsurance, property reinsurance and monoline excess are likely to drive the performance of the Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment. Underwriting income should gain from the compounding rate improvement above loss cost trends, along with growth in exposure and lower claims frequency in certain lines of business.
WRB is one of the largest commercial line property and casualty insurance providers. It has a solid balance sheet, with sufficient liquidity and robust cash flows that support growth initiatives and effective capital deployment.
Net investment income should continue to improve as WRB also invests in alternative assets, such as private equity funds and direct real estate opportunities. The combination of a high-quality fixed maturity portfolio, along with solid operating cash flow, enabled the insurer to invest at higher interest rates.
W.R. Berkley has a solid balance sheet with sufficient liquidity and strong cash flows, given its operational strength. A strong capital position enables the nation’s largest commercial line property casualty insurance provider to deploy capital via share repurchases, special dividends and dividend hikes that enhance shareholders' value.
In December 2023, the board approved a special cash dividend of 50 cents per share. This, along with two more special dividends paid out in January and October 2023, will bring the year’s total to $1.50 per share.
In the first quarter of 2024, the operating return on equity expanded 630 basis points to 22.7. The company targets a return on equity of 15% over the long term.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the property and casualty insurance industry are NMI Holdings Inc NMIH, Palomar Holdings, Inc. PLMR and RLI Corp. RLI, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
NMI Holdings has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 8.60%. In the past year, NMIH has jumped 40.5%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NMIH’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 9.1% and 8.3%, respectively, from the consensus estimate of the corresponding years.
Palomar has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 15.10%. In the past year, PLMR has surged 71.2%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLMR’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 16.8% and 19.1%, respectively, from the consensus estimate of the corresponding years.
RLI Corp. has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missing in one, the average being 132.39%. In the past year, RLI has gained 7.5%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RLI’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 16.1% and 3.2%, respectively, from the consensus estimate of the corresponding years.
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