W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $61.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.72. W. R. Berkley has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued 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%. Research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 107.3% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.