Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $57.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 3.70% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on WRB. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.59.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $68.53 on Friday. W. R. Berkley has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The stock has a market cap of $25.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. As a group, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 79.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. 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.