W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Increases Dividend to $0.10 Per Share

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.10 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a 11.1% increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09.

W.R. Berkley has raised its dividend by an average of 0.5%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 23 consecutive years. W.R. Berkley has a payout ratio of 7.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect W.R. Berkley to earn $4.81 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 7.5%.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.3%

WRB opened at $65.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.30 and its 200-day moving average is $68.94. W.R. Berkley has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, March 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.81.

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.