Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price suggests a potential upside of 14.73% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WRB. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.13.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.7 %

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $69.73 on Thursday. W. R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $76.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.43.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $85,853,000 after buying an additional 444,986 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 12,830 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $208,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493,758 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 worth $5,574,000 after buying an additional 41,320 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 105.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 31,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after buying an additional 16,167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.