Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 8,911,719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $682,816,000. W.R. Berkley comprises about 3.2% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 112,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 9,933,862 shares of company stock valued at $688,134,108. 23.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $69.93 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.35. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $60.68 and a 1 year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley 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.