W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $54.94

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $54.94 and traded as high as $58.03. W. R. Berkley shares last traded at $57.98, with a volume of 628,602 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.67 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $58.67 to $57.33 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.07.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.56 and its 200 day moving average is $54.97. The company has a market cap of $22.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.61.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.84 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.62% and a net margin of 12.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from W. R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 24th. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,970,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $870,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 315.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 101,431 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,173,000 after acquiring an additional 41,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

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.