Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,324 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $894,000.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.94.
W.R. Berkley Price Performance
NYSE:WRB opened at $70.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.85. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.21%.
W.R. Berkley Company Profile
W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.
The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.
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