Brokerages Set W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Price Target at $63.74

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.74.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WRB. Barclays dropped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.3 %

W. R. Berkley stock traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $59.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,137,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,272,077. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $48.69 and a 12 month high of $65.49. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $60.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.56. The company has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.67.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. W. R. Berkley's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 12.2% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,173 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFS Partners LLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently 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.