W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• W.R. Berkley Corporation shares achieved a new 52-week high at $78.43 during mid-day trading, demonstrating strong performance with a trading volume of over 1.77 million shares.
• Analysts have varying opinions on the stock, with Barclays maintaining an "underweight" rating and a target price of $73.00, while UBS Group set a more optimistic target price of $87.00 and assigned a "buy" rating.
• The company recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09, resulting in a yield of 0.5%.

Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $78.43 and last traded at $77.94, with a volume of 1775340 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WRB. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group set a $87.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.69.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,382,000 after purchasing an additional 4,336 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 70.8% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 17,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 7,131 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $323,000. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth $3,493,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake 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 worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

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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