Royal Bank of Canada Trims W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Target Price to $86.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $88.00 to $86.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of WRB opened at $76.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.31. W. R. Berkley has a fifty-two week low of $55.50 and a fifty-two week high of $89.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 21.01%. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth about $402,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 4.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,680 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Financial Strategies Group Inc. acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth about $2,708,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 35,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 11,786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.