RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $316.56 and last traded at $315.8440, with a volume of 19086 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $314.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on RenaissanceRe from $306.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded RenaissanceRe from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on RenaissanceRe from $303.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on RenaissanceRe to $426.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded RenaissanceRe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RenaissanceRe currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.64.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $299.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.24.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The insurance provider reported $13.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.59 by $2.75. RenaissanceRe had a return on equity of 18.29% and a net margin of 20.88%.The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will post 26.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RenaissanceRe Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from RenaissanceRe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. RenaissanceRe’s dividend payout ratio is 2.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RenaissanceRe

In related news, EVP Robert Qutub sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.75, for a total transaction of $1,528,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 73,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,326,782.25. This trade represents a 6.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RenaissanceRe

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RNR. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in RenaissanceRe by 812.8% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 17,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,337,000 after acquiring an additional 15,207 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in RenaissanceRe in the third quarter worth $1,564,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in RenaissanceRe by 207.2% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 41,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,539,000 after acquiring an additional 28,241 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in RenaissanceRe by 16.0% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 119,240 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,279,000 after acquiring an additional 16,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in RenaissanceRe by 31.4% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,169 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,622 shares in the last quarter. 99.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About RenaissanceRe

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance solutions, specializing in property catastrophe, casualty, and specialty lines. Established in 1993 and headquartered in Bermuda, the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RNR. With a focus on underwriting and risk assessment, RenaissanceRe offers tailored programs designed to help insurers and corporations manage exposure to natural disasters, liability claims, and other complex risks.

The company operates through two primary segments: Reinsurance and Insurance.