RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $219.25, but opened at $234.17. RenaissanceRe shares last traded at $225.28, with a volume of 59,866 shares changing hands.

The insurance provider reported $12.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.86 by $2.32. RenaissanceRe had a net margin of 28.04% and a return on equity of 26.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

RenaissanceRe Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from RenaissanceRe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. RenaissanceRe’s payout ratio is currently 3.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on RNR. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on RenaissanceRe from $216.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on RenaissanceRe from $229.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of RenaissanceRe from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of RenaissanceRe from $237.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert Qutub sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total transaction of $586,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,518,653.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other RenaissanceRe news, CFO Robert Qutub sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.56, for a total value of $586,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,518,653.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol P. Sanders sold 880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.59, for a total value of $200,279.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,363 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,565.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RenaissanceRe

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RNR. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 57.6% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,841,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 83.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 52,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,329,000 after buying an additional 23,767 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 20.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,451,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $287,287,000 after buying an additional 249,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 0.4% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 50,548 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,004,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 99.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RenaissanceRe Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 4.18, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $226.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.34.

About RenaissanceRe

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Property, and Casualty and Specialty segments. The Property segment writes property catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance and excess of loss reinsurance to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes, including hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis, as well as winter storms, freezes, floods, fires, windstorms, tornadoes, explosions, and acts of terrorism; and other property class of products, such as proportional reinsurance, property per risk, property reinsurance, binding facilities, and regional U.S.