W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.38.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $78.56 on Friday. W. R. Berkley has a twelve month low of $55.50 and a twelve month high of $89.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.96. The firm has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.60.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 12.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 7,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,768 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.0% during the first quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.