Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $66.00

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price objective decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $74.00 to $66.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on WRB. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, March 9th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.25.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.0%

WRB stock opened at $66.00 on Wednesday. W.R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $62.63 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $24.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $68.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.09%.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 112,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. The trade was a 0.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 7,976,205 shares of company stock valued at $550,898,409 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.