W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Given New $74.00 Price Target at Mizuho

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price boosted by Mizuho from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.44.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $72.39 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.72 and a 200-day moving average of $68.35. W.R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.49%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 21,737 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting W.R. Berkley

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WRB beat Q2 earnings expectations and posted better-than-expected revenue, suggesting solid underlying business momentum and stronger-than-anticipated underwriting results.
• Positive Sentiment: The quarter benefited from premium growth, higher investment income, and lower catastrophe losses, all of which are favorable for insurers’ profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the report, with Truist raising its price target to $83 and maintaining a buy rating, while Mizuho also lifted its target to $74.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted that revenue missed certain Wall Street expectations in a separate headline, but the earnings beat and strong insurance fundamentals appear to be outweighing that concern.

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.