UPDATE: Deutsche Bank Upgrades WR Berkley to Hold on Valuation

Deutsche Bank upgraded WR Berkley

from Sell to Hold and raised the price target from $33.00 to $38.00. Deutsche Bank commented, "While the company earned a 12% ROE in 2012, over 3% of the ROE stems from strategic realization of capital gains, which should not be viewed as runrate. Further, favorable development, which overstates earnings and understates beginning-of-year equity, seems to be dwindling, but still contributed about 1% to ROE in 2012. Earnings around the cost of capital is not unique to Berkley, however, though premium P/B valuations suggest investors believe earnings are likely to emerge from a trough." WR Berkley closed at $41.17 on Thursday.