Truist Financial Boosts W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $80.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.08% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WRB. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.13.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $65.53 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $76.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.54.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 107.3% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during 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.