W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Receives $60.89 Average Price Target from Brokerages

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.89.

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.67 target price on the stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $59.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $57.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $61.28.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 563.2% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Intelligent Financial Strategies bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 173.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. 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.