W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Stock Rated "Reduce" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• W.R. Berkley received an average “Reduce” rating from 18 analysts: six issued sell ratings, nine recommended holding the stock, and three recommended buying it. The average 12-month price target is $70.56.
• Shares opened at $73.90, compared with a 50-day moving average of $70.48 and a 200-day average of $69.24; the stock’s 52-week range is $62.87 to $78.96.
• The insurer beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.17 versus expectations of $1.15, though revenue of $3.74 billion fell short of forecasts and declined 0.8% year over year. W.R. Berkley also maintains a $0.10 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.5%.

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

Several research firms recently issued reports on WRB. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $73.90 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.24. 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 company has a market cap of $27.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.27.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The insurance provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.82 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is 8.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $105,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $95,040,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,735,958 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $121,934,000 after purchasing an additional 885,417 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1,300.5% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 751,280 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $52,988,000 after purchasing an additional 697,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,904,522 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $192,512,000 after purchasing an additional 550,560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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 operates through a group of specialized insurance businesses. The company primarily provides commercial property and casualty insurance, serving businesses, organizations and other commercial customers with coverage tailored to specific industries and risks.

Its products and services include workers' compensation, commercial automobile, property, general liability, professional liability, directors and officers liability, excess and surplus lines, and other specialty insurance products.

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