W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Receives Neutral Rating from Bank of America

Bank of America reiterated their neutral rating on shares of W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $74.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $73.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.21.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.4 %

WRB stock opened at $70.15 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.36. W. R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38. The stock has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 68.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 116,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,624,000 after acquiring an additional 47,515 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 59.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,724,000 after buying an additional 20,348 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 53.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 52,498 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 18,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.