Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $86.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $88.00 to $86.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $90.38.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.6 %

WRB opened at $78.56 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.67 and its 200-day moving average is $76.96. W. R. Berkley has a one year low of $55.50 and a one year high of $89.18. The company has a market capitalization of $20.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 21.01%. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 7.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,635,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at about $82,706,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,904,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,690,000 after purchasing an additional 898,027 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 612.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,006,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $63,904,000 after buying an additional 865,205 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 213.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,147,961 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,884,000 after acquiring an additional 782,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.