Squarepoint Ops LLC Boosts Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 1,300.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 751,280 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 697,638 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $52,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of WRB opened at $69.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.77.

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

W.R. Berkley 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.