RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) Short Interest Down 20.1% in February

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a decrease of 20.1% from the February 13th total of 1,740,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 523,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RNR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of RenaissanceRe from $265.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $288.00 to $277.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $318.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $280.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, RenaissanceRe has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $279.90.

Insider Transactions at RenaissanceRe

In related news, EVP David E. Marra sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.16, for a total transaction of $254,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,178,270.72. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RNR. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,268,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe in the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe in the 3rd quarter valued at about $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.97% of the company’s stock.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RNR traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $240.88. 590,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 388,614. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $241.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.35. RenaissanceRe has a one year low of $208.98 and a one year high of $300.00. The stock has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of 6.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.38.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $8.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.94 by $1.12. RenaissanceRe had a net margin of 15.99% and a return on equity of 23.41%. As a group, analysts predict that RenaissanceRe will post 26.04 earnings per share for the current year.

RenaissanceRe Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from RenaissanceRe’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. RenaissanceRe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.57%.

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.