W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Rating Lowered to Underperform at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• W.R. Berkley has been downgraded to a "strong sell" rating by BMO Capital Markets, reflecting a shift in analysts' outlook on the stock.
• Other analysts hold mixed opinions, with Barclays maintaining an "underweight" rating and setting a price target of $73.00, while Weiss Ratings continues to hold a "buy" rating.
• The company's recent earnings report shows $1.10 earnings per share, beating expectations, with a revenue increase of 10.8% year-over-year.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by BMO Capital Markets from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $64.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective would indicate a potential downside of 14.59% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $87.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.77.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $74.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.42. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $55.97 and a fifty-two week high of $78.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 13.01%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,382,000 after buying an additional 4,336 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 70.8% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 17,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 7,131 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth about $323,000. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $3,493,000. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $2,386,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.