W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Given New $68.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $68.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential downside of 0.85% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.75.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WRB traded up $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,625,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,811,593. W.R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $51.51 and a 12 month high of $76.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.88.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $5,676,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $5,787,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $663,000. 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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