W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider's stock.
WRB has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.36.
Read Our Latest Research Report on W. R. Berkley
W. R. Berkley Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.31. 2,974,598 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,281,655. 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 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The company has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average is $60.10 and its 200-day moving average is $58.39.
W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 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%. Equities analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.
W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,121,001 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $857,814,000 after buying an additional 4,947,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,321,958 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $642,294,000 after buying an additional 3,825,238 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 47.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,591,353 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $429,266,000 after buying an additional 2,459,073 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 55.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,366,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $417,897,000 after buying an additional 2,616,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 104.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $235,701,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118,641 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About W. R. Berkley
(
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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.
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