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W.R. Berkley (WRB) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $64.98, moving +0.28% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.3% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.46%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.02%.
Coming into today, shares of the insurance company had gained 4.28% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector lost 1.92%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.13%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from W.R. Berkley as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.85, down 3.41% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.71 billion, up 12.69% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.10 per share and revenue of $10.8 billion, which would represent changes of +20.59% and +16.65%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for W.R. Berkley. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.92% higher within the past month. W.R. Berkley is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now.
In terms of valuation, W.R. Berkley is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.81. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 12.31, so we one might conclude that W.R. Berkley is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that WRB has a PEG ratio of 1.76 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Insurance - Property and Casualty was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.66 at yesterday's closing price.
The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 160, putting it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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W.R. Berkley (WRB) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
W.R. Berkley (WRB - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $64.98, moving +0.28% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.3% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.46%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.02%.
Coming into today, shares of the insurance company had gained 4.28% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector lost 1.92%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.13%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from W.R. Berkley as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.85, down 3.41% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.71 billion, up 12.69% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.10 per share and revenue of $10.8 billion, which would represent changes of +20.59% and +16.65%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for W.R. Berkley. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.92% higher within the past month. W.R. Berkley is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now.
In terms of valuation, W.R. Berkley is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.81. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 12.31, so we one might conclude that W.R. Berkley is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that WRB has a PEG ratio of 1.76 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Insurance - Property and Casualty was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.66 at yesterday's closing price.
The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 160, putting it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.