Storgate LLC Takes Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Storgate LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the 2nd 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 during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday. Argus cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.31.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.9%

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.52. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $25.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 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 (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

About W.R. Berkley

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.