How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
FOMO, or the fear of missing out, also plays a role in investing, particularly with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to WRB for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
W.R. Berkley's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at W.R. Berkley's main business drivers.
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).
Effective since first quarter of 2016, the company reports results in two segments – Insurance and Reinsurance. Insurance-Domestic operating units and Insurance-International operating units that were previously reported separately have been combined with the Insurance segment.
The two reporting segments are composed of individual operating units that serve a market defined by geography, products, services or industry served.
Insurance segment (87.4% of 2021 net premiums written) predominantly underwrites commercial insurance business primarily throughout the United States, although many units offer coverage globally. It mainly includes commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, Industry Specialty, Product Specialty and Regional. The coverages are offered in the United States, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, South America, Canada, Scandinavia, Asia and Australia.
In addition to providing insurance products, certain operating units also provide a wide variety of fee-based services, including claims, administrative and consulting services.
Reinsurance segment (12.6%) is operated primarily on a facultative and treaty basis. It provides other insurance companies and self-insureds with assistance in managing their net risk through reinsurance on either a portfolio basis, through treaty reinsurance, or on an individual basis, through facultative reinsurance. The services are offered in the United States, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia, the Asia-Pacific Region, and South Africa.
On Feb 22, 2022, the board of directors of W.R. Berkley approved a 3-for-2 stock split which was paid in the form of dividend to shareholders.
Bottom Line
Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in W.R. Berkley ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in September 2012 would be worth $3,911.39, or a gain of 291.14%, as of September 2, 2022, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.
The S&P 500 rose 182.02% and the price of gold increased -1.65% over the same time frame in comparison.
Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for WRB.
W.R. Berkley has been consistently benefiting from its insurance business, performing well on an increase in premium written over the past many years. Shares of W.R. Berkley have outperformed the industry in the past year. The company has been investing in numerous startups since 2006 and establishing new units in growing international markets. Its international business is poised for growth supported by the emerging markets. Solid capital position enables capital deployment. Investment in alternative assets should help improve investment income. However, exposure to a highly competitive reinsurance market is a concern. Rising debt induces higher interest expenses and is an overhang on times interest earned. Also, higher expenses weigh on margin expansion. Exposure to catastrophe loss has been inducing volatility in earnings.
Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 6.21%, and there have been 4 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2022 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock
It's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.
With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.
See This Stock Now for Free >>
How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
FOMO, or the fear of missing out, also plays a role in investing, particularly with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to WRB for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
W.R. Berkley's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at W.R. Berkley's main business drivers.
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).
Effective since first quarter of 2016, the company reports results in two segments – Insurance and Reinsurance. Insurance-Domestic operating units and Insurance-International operating units that were previously reported separately have been combined with the Insurance segment.
The two reporting segments are composed of individual operating units that serve a market defined by geography, products, services or industry served.
Insurance segment (87.4% of 2021 net premiums written) predominantly underwrites commercial insurance business primarily throughout the United States, although many units offer coverage globally. It mainly includes commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, Industry Specialty, Product Specialty and Regional. The coverages are offered in the United States, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, South America, Canada, Scandinavia, Asia and Australia.
In addition to providing insurance products, certain operating units also provide a wide variety of fee-based services, including claims, administrative and consulting services.
Reinsurance segment (12.6%) is operated primarily on a facultative and treaty basis. It provides other insurance companies and self-insureds with assistance in managing their net risk through reinsurance on either a portfolio basis, through treaty reinsurance, or on an individual basis, through facultative reinsurance. The services are offered in the United States, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia, the Asia-Pacific Region, and South Africa.
On Feb 22, 2022, the board of directors of W.R. Berkley approved a 3-for-2 stock split which was paid in the form of dividend to shareholders.
Bottom Line
Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in W.R. Berkley ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in September 2012 would be worth $3,911.39, or a gain of 291.14%, as of September 2, 2022, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.
The S&P 500 rose 182.02% and the price of gold increased -1.65% over the same time frame in comparison.
Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for WRB.
W.R. Berkley has been consistently benefiting from its insurance business, performing well on an increase in premium written over the past many years. Shares of W.R. Berkley have outperformed the industry in the past year. The company has been investing in numerous startups since 2006 and establishing new units in growing international markets. Its international business is poised for growth supported by the emerging markets. Solid capital position enables capital deployment. Investment in alternative assets should help improve investment income. However, exposure to a highly competitive reinsurance market is a concern. Rising debt induces higher interest expenses and is an overhang on times interest earned. Also, higher expenses weigh on margin expansion. Exposure to catastrophe loss has been inducing volatility in earnings.
Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 6.21%, and there have been 4 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2022 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock
It's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.
With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.
See This Stock Now for Free >>
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