W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.8333.

WRB has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $69.89 on Friday. W.R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.73. The firm has a market cap of $25.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.28.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 44.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 466 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of property and casualty insurance businesses. The company provides commercial insurance and reinsurance products for businesses, organizations and other insurance companies, with an emphasis on specialty and complex risks.

Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, excess and surplus lines, professional liability, workers’ compensation, commercial automobile insurance, marine insurance and other specialty products.