W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $70.56

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.44.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 44.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 466 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $71.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $62.87 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.73. The firm has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.27.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.90 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that specializes in commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through a group of operating units, the company provides coverage for businesses and organizations facing risks related to property damage, liability, workers’ compensation, transportation, professional services and other specialty exposures.

The company generally focuses on specialty and complex risks that may require tailored underwriting, industry expertise and customized policy structures.