Jefferies Financial Group Cuts W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $70.00

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

WRB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Truist Financial set a $84.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.43.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $68.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.00. W.R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $58.07 and a 12-month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 308,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.61 per share, for a total transaction of $20,886,824.91. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 55,618,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,760,362,390.35. The trade was a 0.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders purchased 6,811,847 shares of company stock worth $468,372,975 over the last three months. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 8.9% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,496,000 after purchasing an additional 16,450 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $553,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,161,000 after acquiring an additional 4,423 shares during the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,847,000. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,519,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

More W.R. Berkley News

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large, strategic insider purchases by Sumitomo/Mitsui — multiple disclosed buys this week totaling roughly $69M (several blocks: 370k, 350k and 308,931 shares at ~$67/share) signal confidence from a 10%+ shareholder and add short?term buying support. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated a sub?30% expense?ratio target, flagged increased technology investments and announced ~$971M returned to shareholders (buybacks/dividends) — supports EPS leverage and capital return upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary on record investment income and buybacks has prompted debate that stronger profitability plus buybacks could materially change the investment case for WRB. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results: a very small EPS miss ($1.13 vs. $1.14 consensus) and revenue roughly in line — removes shock but leaves little positive surprise in the quarter; investors will watch guidance and underwriting trends. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell?side firms cut price targets (Jefferies to $70, Mizuho to $67, Wells Fargo to $66, Bank of America trimmed expectations) — signals limited near?term upside and likely keeps downward pressure on the multiple. Read More. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note solid underwriting but slowing growth and valuation concerns; the narrow EPS miss plus flat revenue keep upside constrained and justify mid?$60s targets. Read More.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

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.