W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Receives $63.74 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.74.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Institutional Trading of W. R. Berkley

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $47,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.0 %

WRB opened at $57.51 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.10 and a 200-day moving average of $58.67.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.20%.

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.