W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Cut to Strong Sell at Evercore ISI

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) was downgraded by Evercore ISI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

WRB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho set a $67.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial set a $84.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.47.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 2.1%

WRB stock opened at $68.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.38. W.R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $55.97 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 265,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.50 per share, with a total value of $18,152,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 51,445,463 shares in the company, valued at $3,524,014,215.50. The trade was a 0.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 2,638,875 shares of company stock valued at $184,652,772. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Sumitomo Insurance (a major WRB shareholder) made large open-market purchases across Jan. 5–7, adding roughly 681,218 shares and increasing its stake by about 0.4–0.5% — a strong signal of confidence from a large strategic investor. SEC filing: Sumitomo purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $76 (from $73) and maintains a market-perform view, providing incremental analyst support that implies upside from current levels. W R Berkley price target raised to $76 from $73 at Keefe Bruyette
• Neutral Sentiment: W.R. Berkley set its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings release and conference call for Jan. 26 — a key date that will likely drive volatility and reprice expectations depending on results and underwriting trends. Earnings date announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial media highlighted the wave of early-2026 insider purchases (including Sumitomo’s buys), which may attract attention from value investors but does not guarantee near-term price support. Billionaires Start 2026 With Huge Insider Buys
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore downgraded WRB to Underperform citing EPS pressure, a notable negative catalyst because downgrades can prompt selling and reduce demand from institutional holders. W.R. Berkley downgraded to Underperform at Evercore on EPS pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its price target slightly to $73 from $74 — a modest negative signal that, combined with the Evercore note, is pressuring near-term sentiment. W R Berkley price target lowered to $73 from $74 at BofA

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.