W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its W.R. Berkley holdings by 129.2% in the first quarter, owning 25,841 shares worth approximately $1.7 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 68.82% of the company’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $70.94, despite Goldman Sachs upgrading the stock to “Buy.”
• W.R. Berkley reported quarterly EPS of $1.27, beating estimates of $1.08, while revenue rose 2.4% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.09 to $0.10 per share.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 129.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,841 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 14,568 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. 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. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $68.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $71.58 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company's fifty day moving average is $70.48 and its 200-day moving average is $68.75. The stock has a market cap of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is 8.21%.

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.

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