Truist Securities lowered its price target on W.R. Berkley (NYSE: WRB) to $80.00 from $84.00 on Tuesday, while continuing to carry a Buy rating on the specialty property and casualty insurer. The revised target still implies upside relative to the stock's prevailing price of $67.49, and InvestingPro data cited by the analyst group indicates the shares trade below their Fair Value.
In updating its model, Truist reduced its full-year 2026 earnings per share estimate for W.R. Berkley to $4.65 from $4.80. The firm attributed the change to marginal adjustments in expectations for topline growth and investment income. At present the company trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and shows a PEG ratio of 0.6, metrics the analyst described as suggesting the shares remain undervalued relative to projected growth.
Separately, Truist removed 50 basis points of assumed favorable development in the company's Insurance segment, a modeling change that fed into the lower near-term EPS outlook. The firm also published a fresh 2027 earnings projection of $4.95 per share, establishing a longer-term target against which its price objective is measured.
The $80 price target reflects Truist's view of a constrained valuation environment across the property and casualty insurance sector. The target is derived on the assumption that W.R. Berkley will trade at 16 times the firm's 2027 earnings estimate, a multiple the analyst notes is one point ahead of the specialty P&C current-year average.
W.R. Berkley reported fourth-quarter 2025 results that, in aggregate, produced a mixed reception from market participants. The insurer posted earnings per share of $1.13 for the quarter, aligning with analysts' expectations, and reported revenue of $3.72 billion versus projected revenue of $3.19 billion, a 16.61% beat to consensus on top-line measures.
Following the release, several brokerages issued divergent assessments:
- Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an Overweight rating and kept a $76.00 price target, even though the quarter's EPS came in slightly under its $1.14 estimate.
- Jefferies lowered its price target to $70.00 and maintained a Hold rating, noting the quarter's EPS exceeded its $1.05 forecast.
- BofA Securities trimmed its price target to $66.00 and remained Neutral, observing that EPS fell just short of BofA's $4.14 estimate but was consistent with the consensus.
These updates reveal a range of views among sell-side analysts following the earnings release, with price targets and ratings spanning the mid-$60s to mid-$70s. Truist's adjustment sits above several peers' targets and rests on its forward-looking earnings multiple and the firm's revised earnings trajectory.
Investors watching valuation and earnings momentum in the specialty P&C insurance space will likely weigh Truist's retained Buy stance and lower near-term EPS against the mix of revenue outperformance and uneven analyst reactions. The changes by Truist and other brokerages highlight active re-pricing and reassessment across the sector following the company's quarterly disclosure.