RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on RNR. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of RenaissanceRe in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on RenaissanceRe in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on RenaissanceRe from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on RenaissanceRe from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on RenaissanceRe in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $288.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.92.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RNR opened at $265.81 on Monday. RenaissanceRe has a 52 week low of $219.00 and a 52 week high of $274.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $259.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.26.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $15.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.49 by $6.13. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. RenaissanceRe had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 16.83%. RenaissanceRe’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that RenaissanceRe will post 26.04 earnings per share for the current year.

RenaissanceRe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. RenaissanceRe’s payout ratio is 4.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RenaissanceRe

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in RenaissanceRe by 707.1% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 113 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 160.0% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 117 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 80.9% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in RenaissanceRe by 151.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.97% of the company’s stock.

RenaissanceRe Company Profile

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.