StockNews.com Lowers W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) to Hold

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, July 29th.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on W. R. Berkley from $58.67 to $57.33 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.67 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.07.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

W. R. Berkley stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $54.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,092,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,798,606. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.33 and its 200 day moving average is $54.58. W. R. Berkley has a one year low of $40.25 and a one year high of $59.46.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.62% and a net margin of 12.05%. W. R. Berkley’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,970,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $870,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 53,112 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 12,140 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $2,878,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 28,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 14,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.