Brokerages Set W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Target Price at $63.74

Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.74.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WRB. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 1.0 %

WRB stock opened at $57.51 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.39.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.20%.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.