Royal Bank of Canada Lowers W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $86.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $88.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.38% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $77.91 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $84.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.22. W. R. Berkley has a twelve month low of $55.50 and a twelve month high of $89.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.57.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 5.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at $27,000. 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.