Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,110,733 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,401 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $78,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. 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. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $69.13 on Monday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.11 and a 200 day moving average of $68.79.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

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.