Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB)

Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 3.27% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on WRB. StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.28.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $62.94 on Thursday. W. R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $45.75 and a 12-month high of $65.49. The company has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.08 and its 200 day moving average is $57.25.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.