W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Shares Down 5%

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) dropped 5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $79.23 and last traded at $79.23. Approximately 405,602 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,188,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.88.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 4.8 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.57.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 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 $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 132.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.