W. R. Berkley's (WRB) "Sector Perform" Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sector perform" rating reissued by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $63.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.23% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on WRB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.2 %

W. R. Berkley stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.31. 2,974,697 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,281,665. W. R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.05 and a 200 day moving average of $58.48. The firm has a market cap of $22.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. Research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the 3rd 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 stake in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.