W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Raised to $72.00

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Mizuho from $68.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.46% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WRB. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Argus cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $70.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $62.87 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.78 and a 200-day moving average of $68.26.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stance Capital LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 376.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 48,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 38,013 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,801,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,630,000. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 105.4% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 29,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,082,000 after buying an additional 15,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 118,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,336,000 after acquiring an additional 18,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

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.