W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Raised to $83.00

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $78.00 to $83.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WRB. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $68.00 price target (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.44.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE WRB opened at $73.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $27.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.01 and its 200 day moving average is $68.40.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.