Faithward Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Faithward Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 184.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,095 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,473 shares during the quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $2,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 691.9% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Argus cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $68.31.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $68.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $62.87 and a 52 week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.