Bowhead Specialty HoldingsBOW 18 WACC % is 9.34% as of Jun. 26, 2026, which is 4% below its 10-year median of 9.76. GuruFocus rates BOW with a GF Score™ of 18/100. The stock has 1 warning sign investors should review. Among 516 Insurance companies, Bowhead Specialty Holdings ranks worse than 51.94% on this metric.
As of today (2026-06-26), Bowhead Specialty Holdings's weighted average cost of capital is 9.34%%. Bowhead Specialty Holdings's ROIC % is 3.24% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
Bowhead Specialty Holdings earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital. It will destroy value as it grows.
*Note: The beta of this company cannot be obtained because it has a price history shorter than 3 years. It will thus be set to 1 as default to calculate WACC.
For a comprehensive WACC calculation, please access the WACC Calculator.
Because it costs money to raise capital. A firm that generates higher ROIC % than it costs the company to raise the capital needed for that investment is earning excess returns. A firm that expects to continue generating positive excess returns on new investments in the future will see its value increase as growth increases, whereas a firm that earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital will destroy value as it grows.
As of today, Bowhead Specialty Holdings's weighted average cost of capital is 9.34%%. Bowhead Specialty Holdings's ROIC % is 3.24% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
Bowhead Specialty Holdings earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital. It will destroy value as it grows.
*Note: The beta of this company cannot be obtained because it has a price history shorter than 3 years. It will thus be set to 1 as default to calculate WACC.
Be Aware
1. GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding latest one-year quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together.
For companies that report quarterly, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's quarterly debt data from the beginning of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report semi-annually, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's semi-annual debt data from the start of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report annually, GuruFocus combines the beginning and ending annual debt data from the most recent year and then calculates the average.
2. The WACC formula discussed above does not include Preferred Stock. Please adjust if preferred stock is considered.
3. (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
4. GuruFocus uses the latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
For the Insurance - Property & Casualty subindustry, Bowhead Specialty Holdings's WACC %, along with its competitors' market caps and WACC % data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Bowhead Specialty Holdings WACC % vs Insurance Industry
For the Insurance industry and Financial Services sector, Bowhead Specialty Holdings's WACC % distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Bowhead Specialty Holdings's WACC % falls into.
The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. The WACC is commonly referred to as the firm's cost of capital. Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. WACC is the average of the costs of these sources of financing, each of which is weighted by its respective use in the given situation. By taking a weighted average, we can see how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances.
WACC
=
E
/
(E + D)
*
Cost of Equity
+
D
/
(E + D)
*
Cost of Debt
*
(1 - Tax Rate)
1. Weights:
Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. We need to calculate the weight of equity and the weight of debt.
The market value of equity (E) is also called "Market Cap". As of today, Bowhead Specialty Holdings's market capitalization (E) is $928.003 Mil.
The market value of debt is typically difficult to calculate, therefore, GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding the latest one-year quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together. As of Mar. 2026, Bowhead Specialty Holdings's latest one-year quarterly average Book Value of Debt (D) is $146.481 Mil.
a) weight of equity = E / (E + D) = 928.003 / (928.003 + 146.481) = 0.8637
b) weight of debt = D / (E + D) = 146.481 / (928.003 + 146.481) = 0.1363
2. Cost of Equity:
GuruFocus uses Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate the required rate of return. The formula is:
Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta of Asset * (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return)
a) GuruFocus uses 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate as the risk-free rate. It is updated daily. The current risk-free rate is 4.392%. Please go to Economic Indicators page for more information. Please note that we use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the country/region where the company is headquartered. If the data for that country/region is not available, then we will use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the United States as default.
b) Beta is the sensitivity of the expected excess asset returns to the expected excess market returns. Bowhead Specialty Holdings's beta cannot be obtained because it has a price history shorter than 3 years. It will thus be set to 1 as default to calculate WACC.
c) (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
Cost of Equity = 4.392% + 1 * 6% = 10.392%
3. Cost of Debt:
GuruFocus uses latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
As of Mar. 2026, Bowhead Specialty Holdings's interest expense (positive number) was $4.927 Mil. Its total Book Value of Debt (D) is $146.481 Mil.
Cost of Debt = 4.927 / 146.481 = 3.3636%.
4. Multiply by one minus TTM Tax Rate:
GuruFocus uses the most recent TTM Tax Expense divided by the most recent TTM Pre-Tax Income to calculate the tax rate. The calculated TTM tax rate is limited to between 0% and 100%. If the calculated tax rate is higher than 100%, it is set to 100%. If the calculated tax rate is less than 0%, it is set to 0%.
The latest calculated TTM Tax Rate = 15.028 / 73.399 = 20.47%.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Bowhead Specialty Holdings (BOW) has a WACC % of 9.34% as of Jun. 26, 2026. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on Bowhead Specialty Holdings and its competitors. This is near median its historical median of 9.76. Over the past decade, Bowhead Specialty Holdings' WACC % has ranged from 8.94 to 10.57. According to the industry distribution chart, Bowhead Specialty Holdings ranks #268 out of 516 companies in the Insurance industry, placing it in the top 51.9%.
Is Bowhead Specialty Holdings' WACC % too high?
Bowhead Specialty Holdings' current WACC % of 9.34% is near median its 10-year median of 9.76. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 8.94 to a high of 10.57. The Insurance industry median WACC % is 9.17. Bowhead Specialty Holdings' value of 9.34% is 1.9% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Bowhead Specialty Holdings ranks #268 out of 516 companies in the Insurance industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Bowhead Specialty Holdings has a GF Score™ of 18/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Bowhead Specialty Holdings' WACC % compare to ROOT and ASIC?
According to the Insurance industry distribution chart, Bowhead Specialty Holdings ranks #268 out of 516 companies for WACC %. This places Bowhead Specialty Holdings in the lower half of its industry. The industry median WACC % is 9.17. Bowhead Specialty Holdings' value of 9.34% is 1.9% above this benchmark. Historically, Bowhead Specialty Holdings' own WACC % has ranged from 8.94 to 10.57 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 9.76 vs. the industry median of 9.17, Bowhead Specialty Holdings has consistently been above the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good WACC % for an Insurance company?
The median WACC % among Insurance companies is 9.17, based on 516 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a WACC % significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, WACC % should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Bowhead Specialty Holdings's current WACC % of 9.34% is 1.9% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high WACC % mean?
A high WACC % can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on Bowhead Specialty Holdings and its competitors. For the Insurance industry, the median WACC % is 9.17 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Bowhead Specialty Holdings's current WACC % is 9.34%, which is near median its own 10-year median of 9.76. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Bowhead Specialty Holdings stock overvalued right now?
Bowhead Specialty Holdings (BOW) has a current WACC % of 9.34%. The current WACC % is 9.34%, which is near median its 10-year median of 9.76 and 1.9% above the Insurance industry median of 9.17. Bowhead Specialty Holdings' overall GF Score™ is 18/100 with 1 warning sign to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is WACC % calculated?
WACC % is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Bowhead Specialty Holdings (BOW), the current WACC % is 9.34% as of Jun. 26, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc offers commercial specialty property and casualty insurance products. The company offers underwriting solutions to various businesses across four underwriting divisions, which include Casualty, Professional Liability, Healthcare Liability, and Baleen Specialty. A majority of its revenue is generated from the Casualty division, which specializes in general liability coverage, which protects a company against liability arising from bodily injury, personal injury, or property damage, for risks in the construction, distribution, heavy manufacturing, real estate, public entity, and hospitality segments, and also considers underwriting risks in a broader range of industries. Geographically, the company operates in the United States.
18GF Score
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