W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Given New $69.00 Price Target at UBS Group

by · The Cerbat Gem

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by analysts at UBS Group from $67.00 to $69.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.51% from the company’s previous close.

WRB has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.67 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.83.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WRB

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of WRB stock traded down $2.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.72. 768,486 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,795,053. The firm has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $61.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.24 and a 200 day moving average of $55.55.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of W. R. Berkley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth approximately $4,801,000. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 205.9% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 68,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,385,000 after purchasing an additional 46,125 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $3,245,000. CHB Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth $2,880,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 25.6% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories