RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Equal Weight”

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $310.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RNR. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of RenaissanceRe in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of RenaissanceRe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore lifted their target price on RenaissanceRe from $283.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of RenaissanceRe from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.27.

RenaissanceRe Stock Performance

NYSE RNR opened at $298.22 on Thursday. RenaissanceRe has a twelve month low of $219.00 and a twelve month high of $315.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $285.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.85. The company has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 5.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

RenaissanceRe Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from RenaissanceRe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. RenaissanceRe’s payout ratio is 2.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other RenaissanceRe news, EVP Robert Qutub sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.75, for a total value of $1,528,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 73,023 shares in the company, valued at $22,326,782.25. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of RenaissanceRe

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RNR. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in RenaissanceRe by 0.3% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,649,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $672,792,000 after buying an additional 7,839 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,423,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $400,150,000 after purchasing an additional 128,245 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,220,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $295,494,000 after purchasing an additional 122,732 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,033,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $290,450,000 after purchasing an additional 31,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its stake in RenaissanceRe by 4,690.1% during the fourth quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 1,017,508 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $286,083,000 after purchasing an additional 996,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.97% of the company’s stock.

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.