W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock Rating Lowered by Cantor Fitzgerald

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) was downgraded by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $71.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $75.00. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.03% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on WRB. Brean Capital lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $68.69.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $65.72 on Thursday. W.R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $63.67 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.65 and its 200-day moving average is $71.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 112,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 6,824,987 shares of company stock valued at $470,838,886 over the last ninety days. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.