Truist Financial Increases W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $68.00

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $64.00 to $68.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.73% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.64.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $1.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $60.86. 398,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,753,117. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $61.28.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.12. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The company had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. R. Berkley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 3.0% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,768 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 5.8% during the first quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 4.0% in the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 4,915 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 50,637 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,478,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.