W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $77.91. 1,850,036 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,266,824. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. W. R. Berkley has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $89.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.57.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. W. R. Berkley’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 132.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.