W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.07 EPS

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB traded down $1.45 on Monday, reaching $67.35. 1,829,629 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,799,336. W. R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.42.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut W. R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in W. R. Berkley stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 75.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $2,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.