WR Berkley In Spotlight After Rise In Q1 Net Premiums: Retail Mood Brightens

WR Berkley (WRB) rose marginally in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company reported higher written net premiums during the first quarter, which offset losses from catastrophes.

Its net premiums rose by 10% to $3.1 billion for the first quarter ended March 31 as the commercial insurer saw strong demand amid elevated risks of natural disasters.

Its operating income of $1.01 per share for the first quarter topped Wall Street’s estimates of $0.99 per share, according to FinChat data.

However, the company’s net income fell to $417.57 million for the first quarter, compared to $442.47 million in the same quarter last year.

Its combined ratio grew to 90.9% during the first quarter, including 3.7 points of catastrophe losses, primarily attributed to the Los Angeles wildfires in January.

A ratio less than 100 percentage points indicated that the company paid less in claims compared to what it earned in premiums.

Its catastrophe losses surged to $111 million compared with $30.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company’s net investment income grew 12.6% to $360.3 million.

“We are paying close attention, as you would expect, to the tariffs, and it is a very fluid situation,” a company executive said on a call with analysts.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ (76/100) territory from ‘extremely bearish’(9/100) a day ago, while retail chatter rose to ‘extremely high.’

Some users praised the earnings report, while one user pointed out that the catastrophe losses ratio is “too high.”

WR Berkley shares have risen 14.2% year-to-date (YTD).

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