W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

WRB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.06.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $73.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day moving average price is $68.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $51.17 and a 12-month high of $76.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Equities research analysts forecast 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 107.3% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

About W. R. Berkley

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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