W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.64.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WRB. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.3%

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $72.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.04 and its 200-day moving average is $65.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.42. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $51.41 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 12.43%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 108,810 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,312,000 after buying an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,062,000. 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.