W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of WRB traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $74.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,293,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,304,959. W.R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $27.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.77 and its 200 day moving average is $69.06.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WRB. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.28.

About W.R. Berkley

W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of specialized insurance businesses. The company primarily provides commercial property and casualty insurance, serving businesses, organizations and other commercial customers with coverage tailored to specific industries and risks.

Its products and services include workers’ compensation, commercial automobile, property, general liability, professional liability, directors and officers liability, excess and surplus lines, and other specialty insurance products.