Piper Jaffray Comments On W.R. Berkley Results

According to Piper Jaffray, W.R. Berkley WRB reported 1Q11 operating EPS of $0.66 compared to PJC's $0.69 estimate and consensus of $0.65. Piper Jaffray said that in the quarter, management chose to reverse its previous position on investment fund exclusion to now include investment fund results. “Consequently, on an apples to apples basis, operating results fell short of our estimate at $0.56 per share. The shortfall primarily resulted from a 170bp difference in the combined ratio, a $4.0M short-fall on net investment income offset in-part by higher than forecasted premium earned. Despite the shortfall ROE remained stable at 12.6%.” MGIC Investment closed yesterday at $31.97.