W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.13.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of WRB stock opened at $65.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.56.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. Equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.34%.

Institutional Trading of W. R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 107.3% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 79.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. 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.