W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Raised to $69.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $67.00 to $69.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.08.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE WRB opened at $59.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.60. The company has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $43.20 and a 12 month high of $61.96.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 15.9% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,436 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 12.7% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 563.2% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 6.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 6.4% during the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About W. R. Berkley

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.