Zacks: Brokerages Anticipate W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Will Announce Quarterly Sales of $2.63 Billion

Brokerages expect that W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB – Get Rating) will post sales of $2.63 billion for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Four analysts have issued estimates for W. R. Berkley’s earnings. The highest sales estimate is $2.75 billion and the lowest is $2.56 billion. W. R. Berkley reported sales of $2.16 billion during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 21.8%. The company is expected to announce its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will report full-year sales of $10.94 billion for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $10.50 billion to $11.63 billion. For the next year, analysts forecast that the business will report sales of $12.34 billion, with estimates ranging from $11.70 billion to $13.27 billion. Zacks’ sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of research firms that follow W. R. Berkley.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 13.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS.

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 8th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $44.67 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.55.

Shares of WRB opened at $66.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.80. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $47.13 and a 1 year high of $71.53.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 9th were issued a $0.0867 dividend. This represents a $0.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 8th. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.06%.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Berkley W R Corp purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $94,223,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $101,019,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 384.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,355,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $111,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,197 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,358,324 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $392,123,000 after acquiring an additional 962,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Group LLC grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 36.9% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 1,688,608 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,443,000 after purchasing an additional 455,440 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.90% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile (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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