W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) PT Raised to $67.00 at UBS Group

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $66.00 to $67.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.98% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WRB. TD Cowen began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.67 price objective on the stock. Barclays began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.31.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $59.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $41.82 and a 1-year high of $61.28. The company has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,801,000. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 205.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 68,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,385,000 after acquiring an additional 46,125 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,245,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 25.6% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,875,000 after acquiring an additional 10,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 174,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,716,000 after acquiring an additional 55,942 shares in the last quarter. 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.