W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Cut to $86.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $88.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price indicates a potential upside of 10.47% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on WRB. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of WRB traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.85. 2,861,663 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,259,424. The firm's 50 day moving average is $84.55 and its 200-day moving average is $76.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W. R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $55.50 and a 52 week high of $89.18. The company has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.57.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $402,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 4.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,680 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,708,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 35,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 11,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.