W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.9286.

A number of analysts have commented on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial set a $84.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Wolfe Research began coverage on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, November 7th.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of WRB stock opened at $69.36 on Monday. W.R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $55.97 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 237,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.35 per share, with a total value of $16,486,852.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 50,764,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,520,500,390.75. This represents a 0.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have bought 1,957,657 shares of company stock worth $137,235,699. Company insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,961,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,715,583,000 after acquiring an additional 625,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,143,256,000 after purchasing an additional 149,605 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $682,816,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $599,271,000 after purchasing an additional 289,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,274,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $534,438,000 after buying an additional 577,873 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About W.R. Berkley

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.