W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18, Zacks reports. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $59.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,615,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,237,703. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.39.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.74.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.