W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Given New $69.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised W.R. Berkley's price target from $68.00 to $69.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.51% from the stock's previous close.
• Analysts' ratings for W.R. Berkley vary, with one Strong Buy, three Buy, ten Hold, and one Sell, averaging a Hold rating with a price target of $73.69.
• W.R. Berkley reported an EPS of $1.05, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, aligning with analysts' forecasts.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential downside of 11.51% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WRB. Wolfe Research began coverage on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $87.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.69.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

W.R. Berkley stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.98. The company had a trading volume of 82,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,902,487. W.R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $55.97 and a 52 week high of $78.39. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $72.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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