W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Given New $75.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on WRB. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.06.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $73.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.35. W. R. Berkley has a one year low of $51.17 and a one year high of $76.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.07). W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 107.3% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the first quarter worth $36,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently 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.