W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock Price Down 5%

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)’s share price was down 5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $79.23 and last traded at $79.23. Approximately 405,602 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,188,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Evercore ISI increased 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 report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.47 and its 200-day moving average is $76.21.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of W. R. Berkley

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 132.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

About W. R. Berkley

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.