W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Lowered to $87.00 at BMO Capital Markets

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price objective decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $93.00 to $87.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $77.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.57. W. R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $55.50 and a 12 month high of $89.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 106.1% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 132.6% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth about $27,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.