W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Given New $89.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $83.00 to $89.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $88.50.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $82.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. W. R. Berkley has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $89.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.00.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 123.1% in the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 92.3% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.