UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by investment analysts at UBS Group from $73.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the insurance provider's stock. UBS Group's target price points to a potential upside of 10.31% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.39.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB traded up $0.23 on Monday, hitting $70.71. 1,592,626 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,770,589. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $65.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.86. The firm has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. W. R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $51.13 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. On average, research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 21.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,022,039 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $357,368,000 after acquiring an additional 900,071 shares in the last quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 12,377 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 15.8% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 20,396 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 2.0% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 34,693 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,469,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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