Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) Stock Rating Raised to "Overweight" at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Reinsurance Group of America to “overweight” from “equal weight” and set a $295 price target, implying approximately 16.2% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: RGA has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $267.56, with recent upgrades from UBS and supportive ratings from Wells Fargo and JPMorgan.
• RGA reported strong quarterly results, posting $8.89 in earnings per share versus the $6.50 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 18.5% year over year to $6.64 billion.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $295.00 price target on the insurance provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.19% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group upgraded Reinsurance Group of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $269.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Reinsurance Group of America from $286.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Reinsurance Group of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $267.56.

Reinsurance Group of America Price Performance

NYSE RGA traded up $5.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $253.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 134,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 364,172. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $244.39 and a 200 day moving average of $222.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Reinsurance Group of America has a one year low of $178.21 and a one year high of $257.81.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $8.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $2.39. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 5.81%.Reinsurance Group of America's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.72 EPS. Analysts expect that Reinsurance Group of America will post 29.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Reinsurance Group of America news, EVP Jonathan Porter sold 8,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.30, for a total transaction of $2,115,470.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,666,175.50. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Reinsurance Group of America

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RGA. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Reinsurance Group of America by 77.6% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,716 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 5,118 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 82,153 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 25,218 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,363,000 after acquiring an additional 5,331 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Reinsurance Group of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,971,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Reinsurance Group of America by 79.0% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,065 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.11% of the company's stock.

Reinsurance Group of America Company Profile

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated NYSE: RGA is a global provider of life and health reinsurance. The company helps insurance and financial services companies manage mortality, longevity, morbidity and other risks by assuming portions of their insurance obligations and providing capital and risk-management support.

RGA's business includes traditional life reinsurance, health reinsurance, longevity solutions and financial solutions. Its offerings support products such as life insurance, annuities, critical illness coverage, disability insurance and other health-related protection products.

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