Short Interest in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Expands By 20.4%

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,630,000 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the February 13th total of 7,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.36.

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W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.21. 4,177,646 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,657,789. The company's 50-day moving average price is $60.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.92. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the 4th 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 107.3% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.