Hancock Whitney Corp Boosts Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 50.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,428 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $8,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $62.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $45.75 and a 1 year high of $62.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.77 and a 200-day moving average of $56.52. The company has a market cap of $23.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. W. R. Berkley’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.22.

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.