StockNews.com Upgrades RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) to Buy

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on RNR. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $251.00 to $248.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $287.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on RenaissanceRe from $270.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on RenaissanceRe from $262.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on RenaissanceRe from $257.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.00.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

Shares of RNR traded up $3.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $278.73. 394,583 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,519. The stock has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.51, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $256.54 and a 200-day moving average of $235.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. RenaissanceRe has a 52 week low of $188.24 and a 52 week high of $283.86.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $12.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.88 by $1.53. RenaissanceRe had a return on equity of 27.74% and a net margin of 25.38%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. On average, analysts forecast that RenaissanceRe will post 40.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert Qutub sold 2,500 shares of RenaissanceRe stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.56, for a total transaction of $561,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 73,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,598,352.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Robert Qutub sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.56, for a total transaction of $561,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 73,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,598,352.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David E. Marra sold 1,000 shares of RenaissanceRe stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $279,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 82,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,890,276. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $1,339,400 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RenaissanceRe

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RNR. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in RenaissanceRe in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in RenaissanceRe by 316.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in RenaissanceRe in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 99.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.