W. R. Berkley (WRB) Set to Announce Earnings on Tuesday

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, April 23rd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.49 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect W. R. Berkley to post $6 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WRB stock opened at $82.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.57. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $55.50 and a 1-year high of $89.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.44.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WRB. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 92.3% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. First Manhattan Co. grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 50.0% during the first quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 486 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the first quarter worth about $78,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.