TD Cowen Reiterates Sell Rating for W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB)

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reissued by equities research analysts at TD Cowen in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $55.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $77.00. TD Cowen’s target price points to a potential downside of 18.51% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Truist Financial set a $84.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $71.47.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.3%

WRB opened at $67.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $56.86 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.34 and a 200-day moving average of $72.11.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 325,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.03 per share, for a total transaction of $22,109,750.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 52,496,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,571,337,167.12. This trade represents a 0.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 5,084,916 shares of company stock worth $352,173,470 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $786,000. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Rydar Equities Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Rydar Equities Inc. now owns 9,803 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 105.4% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 29,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,082,000 after purchasing an additional 15,240 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo/Mitsui bought a sizeable block of Berkley shares over Jan. 20–21 (about 630k shares total, roughly $42.6M at ~$67.5–67.8 per share), increasing its stake and signaling institutional confidence/support for the stock. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares worth $42.6m SEC Ownership Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a preview of Wall Street projections for WRB’s Q4 metrics — useful context for investors but not a direct catalyst until actual quarterly results are released. Insights Into W.R. Berkley (WRB) Q4
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary assessing Berkley’s valuation after an expanded share buyback plan highlights buyback support for per‑share metrics, but the net market impact depends on execution and timing. Assessing W. R. Berkley (WRB) Valuation After Its Expanded Share Buyback Plan
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a “sell” rating and cut its price target sharply to $55 from $77, implying notable downside from current levels; that analyst action likely pressured sentiment and contributed to the stock’s decline. TD Cowen downgrades W R Berkley (WRB)

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.