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

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.28.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $60.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.40 and its 200 day moving average is $57.48. The company has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $45.75 and a 1 year high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

About W. R. Berkley

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.