W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.13.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $65.53 on Thursday. W. R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $76.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.79 and its 200 day moving average is $60.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $85,853,000 after purchasing an additional 444,986 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after buying an additional 12,830 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 98,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,574,000 after buying an additional 41,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 105.4% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 31,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.