W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

by · The Markets Daily

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WRB. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

View Our Latest Research Report on W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $63.65 on Tuesday. W. R. Berkley has a 52-week low of $50.73 and a 52-week high of $65.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.75 and a 200-day moving average of $59.87. The company has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

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

Institutional Trading of W. R. Berkley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 79.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About W. R. Berkley

(Get Free Report)

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.

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