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

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

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased 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 report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.6 %

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $76.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.57. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $84.26 and a 200-day moving average of $76.41.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services raised its position 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 during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.