W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.15 EPS

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Rating) posted its earnings results on Monday. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.15, MarketWatch Earnings reports. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.26 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share.

NYSE:WRB opened at $67.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.80. W. R. Berkley has a one year low of $47.13 and a one year high of $71.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 9th were paid a $0.0867 dividend. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 8th. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 9.56%.

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $341,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $353,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,424 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 8,127 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.74% of the company’s stock.

WRB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.67 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 3rd. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $44.67 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.36.

About W. R. Berkley (Get Rating)

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writer in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including premises operations, commercial automobile, property, products liability, and general and professional liability lines.

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