Truist Financial Cuts W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $93.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $95.00 to $93.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.70% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on WRB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.63.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $78.35 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.20. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.57. W. R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $55.50 and a 52 week high of $89.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W. R. Berkley will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 50.8% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 718 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 4.9% during the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 10,706 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 16.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,763 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 3.9% in the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,971 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 3.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 55,818 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.