W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.09

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.09 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd.

W.R. Berkley has increased its dividend by an average of 0.5%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 23 years. W.R. Berkley has a payout ratio of 7.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect W.R. Berkley to earn $4.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.6%.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of WRB traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.08. 1,763,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,314,663. W.R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $60.20 and a 1-year high of $78.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.