Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $88.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $85.00 to $88.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an in-line rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $69.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.22.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $82.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.05. W. R. Berkley has a one year low of $55.50 and a one year high of $89.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.57.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. W. R. Berkley’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 123.1% in the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 92.3% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.