UBS Group Boosts W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $67.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $66.00 to $67.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

WRB has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.67 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.64.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $61.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.54. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $61.29.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,801,000. Prudential PLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 205.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 68,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,385,000 after purchasing an additional 46,125 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,245,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 25.6% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 174,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,716,000 after purchasing an additional 55,942 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.