W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WRB. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $68.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.19. 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 has a 1 year low of $60.68 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.35.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 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 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Insider Activity

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 370,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. This represents a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 9,933,862 shares of company stock worth $688,134,108. Corporate insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.