Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $75.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.35% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WRB. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research cut W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Argus lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.50.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.2%

W.R. Berkley stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $71.19. 114,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,219,408. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $62.87 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.22.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,596,795,000 after buying an additional 309,828 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,143,256,000 after purchasing an additional 149,605 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth about $682,816,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,752,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.