Mizuho Lowers W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $72.00

Key Points

• Mizuho lowered W.R. Berkley’s price target to $72 from $74 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying roughly 1.5% upside from the stock’s $70.94 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: W.R. Berkley has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $70.83, with three Buy, nine Hold, and six Sell ratings.
• The insurer exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.27 in earnings per share versus $1.08 expected and $3.72 billion in revenue versus $3.28 billion forecast; institutional investors own 68.82% of the stock.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Mizuho from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Mizuho's price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.49% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WRB. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $62.00 price target (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wolfe Research lowered W.R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $70.83.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.94. 555,345 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,154,872. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $26.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28. W.R. Berkley has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.75.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,948 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,054,000 after buying an additional 5,304 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 51,537 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,635,000 after buying an additional 23,122 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 164.3% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 11,782 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 7,324 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 288.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,493 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 25,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 44.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 466 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

About W.R. Berkley

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.

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