W. R. Berkley price target raised to $60 from $57 at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI raised the firm’s price target on W. R. Berkley (WRB) to $60 from $57 and keeps an In Line rating on the shares. After W. R. Berkley reported Q3 operating EPS of 93c, which was above the firm’s 90c estimate and Street’s 92c forecast, the analyst thinks it was “a decent quarter but potentially a touch disappointing following (Travelers (TRV)) TRV results as NPW growth missed and rate increases didn’t accelerate by much.” While the firm thinks there is evidence of rate acceleration in auto and GL/umbrella, it struggles to see rates accelerating enough across W. R. Berkley’s book to achieve the 10%-15% growth in Q4, says the analyst, who adds that “it appears like consensus shares this view.”