W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

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

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, hitting $63.65. 1,676,287 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,654,335. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.64 and a 200-day moving average of $59.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released 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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. On average, analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

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.