W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Receives $63.74 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.74.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WRB. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $57.51 on Monday. W. R. Berkley has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $65.49. 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 firm has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.10 and a 200-day moving average of $58.39.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

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.