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WR Berkley Co. (NYSE: WRB) saw a significant increase in short-term interest in December. As of December 15, there was short interest totaling 1,180,000 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the total of 959,500 shares as of November 30. About 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 620,600 shares, the day-to-coverage ratio is currently 1.9 days.
NYSE WRB shares traded up $ 1.64 in Friday’s session, reaching $ 84.58. 577,495 shares of the stock traded for an average volume of 566,259. WR Berkley has a 52-week low of $ 61.49 and a 52-week high of $ 84.93. The company has a leverage ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49, and a rapid ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $ 80.90 and a 200-day moving average of $ 77.06. The stock has a market cap of $ 14.94 billion, a P / E ratio of 15.18, a price / earnings-growth ratio of 1.92, and a beta of 0.86.
WR Berkley (NYSE: WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 20. The insurance provider reported earnings per share (EPS) of $ 1.32 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $ 0.94 by $ 0.38. WR Berkley had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 11.32%. The company posted revenue of $ 2.40 billion for the quarter. In the same quarter of the previous year, the company posted earnings per share of $ 0.65. Analysts expect WR Berkley to post earnings per share of 4.77 for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 22. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 7 received a dividend of $ 1.00. This is a positive change from WR Berkley’s previous special dividend of $ 0.33. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday December 6. WR Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.34%.
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In related news, the director Mark Ellwood Brockbank sold 25,000 shares of WR Berkley in a trade that took place on Thursday, December 23. The stock was sold for an average price of $ 80.31, for a total value of $ 2,007,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 22.40% of the shares are held by insiders.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently changed their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in WR Berkley by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,105 shares of the insurance provider valued at $ 529,000 after acquiring 146 additional shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in WR Berkley by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 22,692 shares of the insurance provider valued at $ 1,660,000 after acquiring 152 more shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in WR Berkley by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,149 shares of the insurance provider valued at $ 450,000 after acquiring 171 additional shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in WR Berkley by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 18,295 shares of the insurance provider valued at $ 1,362,000 after acquiring 176 additional shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vigilant Capital Management LLC increased its stake in WR Berkley by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vigilant Capital Management LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the insurance provider valued at $ 159,000 after acquiring 179 additional shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 68.68% of the company’s shares.
A number of equity research analysts weighed on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage of WR Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 16. They issued an “outperformance” rating and a target price of $ 98.00 for the company. The Goldman Sachs group picked up the coverage of WR Berkley in a report released on Monday, November 22. They set a “buy” rating and a price target of $ 99.00 for the company. The Royal Bank of Canada increased its price target for WR Berkley from $ 88.00 to $ 91.00 and gave the company an “outperformance” rating in a report released on Friday, October 22. Truist reprized the coverage of WR Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 9. They set a “buy” rating and a price target of $ 105 for the company. They noted that the move was an appraisal call. Finally, Truist Securities assumed cover for WR Berkley in a report released on Thursday, December 9. They set a “buy” rating and a price target of $ 105 for the company. Six research analysts rated the stock with a conservation rating and ten gave the company’s stock a buy rating. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average “Buy†rating and a consensus target price of $ 88.63.
About WR Berkley
WR Berkley Corp. is an insurance holding company that operates in the field of property and casualty insurance. It operates through the following segments: Insurance and Reinsurance & Excess Monoline. The Insurance segment includes surplus and surplus lines, admitted lines and specialized personal lines in the United States, as well as insurance activities in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, South America, Canada, Mexico, in Scandinavia, Asia and Australia.
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