W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded W.R. Berkley from "hold" to "sell", and several other analysts have trimmed ratings and price targets recently — the consensus remains a "Hold" with a mean price target of $69.67.
• Major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance bought 370,000 shares (~$24.8M) on Jan. 26, raising its stake to about 54.96 million shares (a 0.68% increase), while insiders have acquired nearly 9.93 million shares in the last 90 days.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Argus decreased their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $69.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $60.68 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.70 and a 200-day moving average of $72.21.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 370,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 9,933,862 shares of company stock valued at $688,134,108 in the last ninety days. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $2,419,000 after buying an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $675,000 after buying an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 17.1% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,030 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.4% in the second quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation NYSE: WRB is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company's product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.

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