W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $61.98 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.71. W. R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $65.49.

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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. As a group, analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 90,408 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 37,569 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 92,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,252,000 after acquiring an additional 30,833 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 279.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 26,082 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 8,808 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by 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.