Barclays Increases W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $52.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target boosted by analysts at Barclays from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 12.36% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 3.2 %

WRB stock opened at $59.34 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $65.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.10 and a 200 day moving average of $58.39.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

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