W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $70.56

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is bearish: W.R. Berkley has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with six sells, nine holds and three buys. The average 12-month price target is $70.56, near the stock’s $69.70 opening price.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: The insurer reported quarterly EPS of $1.27 versus the $1.08 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $3.72 billion compared with expectations of $3.28 billion.
• Dividend remains modest: W.R. Berkley paid a quarterly dividend of $0.10, equivalent to $0.40 annually and a 0.6% yield; institutional investors own 68.82% of the company.

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.56.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research lowered W.R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.1%

WRB opened at $69.70 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.27. 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 one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is 8.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,542,919,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,972,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $263,326,000 after buying an additional 377,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 3.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,768,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $249,757,000 after buying an additional 129,801 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 23.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,904,522 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $192,512,000 after acquiring an additional 550,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,790,374 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $195,661,000 after acquiring an additional 26,726 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that specializes in commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through a group of operating units, the company provides coverage for businesses and organizations facing risks related to property damage, liability, workers' compensation, transportation, professional services and other specialty exposures.

The company generally focuses on specialty and complex risks that may require tailored underwriting, industry expertise and customized policy structures.

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