Entropy Technologies LP Takes Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 18,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,333,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $75,645,000 after purchasing an additional 490,669 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,363,295 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,340,000 after buying an additional 439,853 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.1% during the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 987,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,039,000 after buying an additional 316,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkley W R Corp purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth approximately $21,138,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $60.25 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.03. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $45.30 and a 12 month high of $61.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WRB shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.08.

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.