W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Stock Now Rated “Reduce” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.56.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WRB. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Bank of America lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, October 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 10.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,972,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $263,326,000 after acquiring an additional 377,742 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,768,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $249,757,000 after purchasing an additional 129,801 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,904,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $192,512,000 after purchasing an additional 550,560 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,735,958 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $121,934,000 after purchasing an additional 885,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $105,639,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $75.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.43. W.R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $62.87 and a 1-year high of $79.26. The firm has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 12.53%. The business’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.46%.

About W.R. Berkley

W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that provides commercial property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, and related services. Its offerings include coverage for businesses and professionals across areas such as property, casualty, workers’ compensation, transportation, and specialty risks.

Founded in 1967 by William R. Berkley, the company operates through a group of insurance businesses with expertise in specific markets and customer needs. Its operations serve customers in the United States and select international markets.

William R.