W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Monday. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 12.43%.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded down $0.87 during trading on Monday, reaching $67.88. 3,340,332 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,811,988. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.41. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $72.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $51.51 and a 12-month high of $76.38.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WRB. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 21,737 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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