W.R. Berkley Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.09 (NYSE:WRB)

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.09 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd.

W.R. Berkley has raised its dividend by an average of 0.5%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 23 years. W.R. Berkley has a payout ratio of 7.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect W.R. Berkley to earn $4.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.6%.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.08. 1,763,929 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,314,663. 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 has a 52-week low of $60.20 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.16.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WRB. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

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.