W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of WRB opened at $59.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.48.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. As a group, equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 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.