W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.15 EPS

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.15, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.35. 3,587,144 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,236,140. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.78. The stock has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley has a one year low of $63.67 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 112,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. The trade was a 0.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 5,168,946 shares of company stock worth $357,554,238. Company insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. State Street Corp boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,143,256,000 after buying an additional 149,605 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,913,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $344,523,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,990,309 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,800,000 after acquiring an additional 85,165 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.6% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,738,612 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $201,206,000 after acquiring an additional 121,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,213,679 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WRB. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

About W.R. Berkley

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.