W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.09 per share by the insurance provider on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This is a 12.5% increase from W. R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08.
W. R. Berkley has a payout ratio of 6.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect W. R. Berkley to earn $4.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.8%.
W. R. Berkley Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:WRB traded down $0.62 on Friday, hitting $73.17. 1,619,918 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,762,481. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $51.41 and a 1-year high of $76.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $71.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.42.
W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have weighed in on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.64.
View Our Latest Research Report on WRB
Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 399.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 9.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
W. R. Berkley Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Recommended Stories
Before you consider W. R. Berkley, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and W. R. Berkley wasn't on the list.
While W. R. Berkley currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of ten stocks that are set to soar in Summer 2025, despite the threat of tariffs and other economic uncertainty. These ten stocks are incredibly resilient and are likely to thrive in any economic environment.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
