Yahoo Finance Here's Why Hold Strategy is Apt for W.R. Berkley (WRB) Stock
W.R. Berkley Corporation WRB has been favored by investors on the back of rate increases, high retention, growth in premium rates and exposure as well as effective capital deployment.
Growth Projections
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for W.R. Berkley’s 2023 earnings is $4.89, indicating an 11.6% increase from the year-ago reported figure on 5.8% higher revenues of $11.61 billion. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings is $5.44, indicating an 11.3% increase from the year-ago reported figure on 8.5% higher revenues of $12.60 billion.
Earnings Surprise History
WRB has a stellar earnings surprise history. It beat estimates in each of the last six quarters.
Zacks Rank & Price Performance
W.R. Berkley currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past year, the stock has lost 7.9% compared with the industry’s decrease of 6.7%.
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Style Score
W.R. Berkley has a favorable VGM Score of A. VGM Score helps to identify stocks with the most attractive value, the 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.
W.R. Berkley is one of the largest commercial lines 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.
W.R. Berkley boasts more than 58 straight quarters of favorable reserve development. A strong capital position helps the company deploy capital via share repurchases, special dividends and dividend hikes that enhance shareholders' value. Its current dividend yield of 0.6% is better than the industry average of 0.3%, which makes WRB stock an attractive pick for yield-seeking investors.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the property and casualty insurance industry are Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. KNSL, Everest Re Group, Ltd. RE and Selective Insurance Group, Inc. SIGI. While Kinsale Capital sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Everest Re and Selective Insurance carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Kinsale Capital has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 13.83%. In the past year, KNSL has gained 37%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KNSL’s 2023 and 2024 earnings per share is pegged at $9.92 and $11.94, indicating a year-over-year increase of 27.1% and 20.4%, respectively.
Everest Re beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 18.41%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RE’s 2023 and 2024 earnings per share is pegged at $45.63 and $53.28, indicating a year-over-year increase of 68.5% and 16.7%, respectively. In the past year, RE has gained 25.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Selective Insurance’s 2023 and 2024 earnings per share is pegged at $6.57 and $7.55, indicating a year-over-year increase of 30.6% and 14.9%, respectively. In the past year, SIGI has gained 12.1%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SIGI’s 2023 and 2024 revenues is pegged at $4.17 billion and $4.60 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of 13.6% and 10.1%, respectively.
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W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Everest Re Group, Ltd. (RE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (SIGI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
