TD Cowen Downgrades W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) to Hold

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $78.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock. TD Cowen's target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.70% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.42.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $72.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.58 and a 200-day moving average of $65.56. W.R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $51.41 and a 12-month high of $76.38.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 12.43%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 107.3% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors 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.

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