W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.9444.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WRB. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, August 17th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, July 10th.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $68.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.5% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,722 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

About W.R. Berkley

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.