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

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.99. W. R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $85,853,000 after purchasing an additional 444,986 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 12,830 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 72.6% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 98,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,574,000 after buying an additional 41,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 70.7% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.