W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Raised to $64.00
by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat GemW.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) had its price target raised by Barclays from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 3.94% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other analysts have also weighed in on WRB. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, March 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho lowered their target price on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.75.
Read Our Latest Research Report on WRB
W.R. Berkley Trading Up 1.9%
NYSE:WRB traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.63. The stock had a trading volume of 601,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,228,589. W.R. Berkley has a one year low of $63.67 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $24.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.17 and a 200 day moving average of $70.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley
In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 112,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.20 per share, for a total transaction of $8,099,107.20. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 4,848,946 shares of company stock worth $335,960,638. Corporate insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
W.R. Berkley News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — WRB reported $1.30 EPS vs. a $1.13 consensus and reported revenue of $3.69B (up ~1.3% year-over-year), with net income and premiums rising, supporting the fundamentals. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Underlying metrics look healthy — reported net margin (~12.1%) and return on equity (~18.2%) alongside growth in gross/net premiums written, which supports underwriting strength and profitability. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst maintains bullish stance despite a small cut — Truist lowered its price target from $80 to $78 but kept a “buy” rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels. That endorsement can support investor confidence. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and investor materials available — detailed commentary from management is accessible for investors to parse for reserve commentary, reinsurance, and rate trends. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/commentary coverage summarizing the quarter has been posted (Zacks, MarketBeat) — useful for detail but not headline-moving by itself. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Some outlets published varying takes on revenue vs. expectations (mixed reporting across outlets), so market readers may be parsing different analyst models. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Reserve adequacy concerns flagged by analysts/journalists — commentary that reserve strengthening or reserve development could pressure future earnings has raised caution among investors and likely weighed on the stock. Read More.
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.