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

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

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

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $66.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.07. The firm has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $66.54.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of W. R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.