Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires 697,638 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its W.R. Berkley stake by 1,300.5% in the second quarter, purchasing 697,638 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 751,280 shares valued at approximately $53 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Reduce”, with three Buy, nine Hold, and six Sell ratings and an average price target of $70.94.
• The insurer beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.27 in EPS versus the $1.08 consensus and $3.72 billion in revenue, up 2.4% year over year. Shares opened at $69.84, within their 52-week range of $62.87 to $78.96.

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 1,300.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 751,280 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 697,638 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.20% of W.R. Berkley worth $52,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $29,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at $35,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $77.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 27th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $69.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $25.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.77. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $62.87 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley 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.

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