Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $267.56 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a positive outlook on RGA: Eleven firms give the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $267.56. Recent upgrades and target increases include Morgan Stanley, UBS, Wells Fargo and Barclays.
• RGA reported strong quarterly earnings: The company posted $8.89 in EPS, beating expectations of $6.50, while revenue rose 18.5% year over year to $6.64 billion.
• The dividend was increased: RGA raised its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $0.98 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.92 dividend and a 1.6% yield.

Shares of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $267.56.

Several research firms recently issued reports on RGA. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Reinsurance Group of America from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $269.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group upgraded Reinsurance Group of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Reinsurance Group of America from $278.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Reinsurance Group of America Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Reinsurance Group of America stock opened at $246.49 on Thursday. Reinsurance Group of America has a 1-year low of $178.21 and a 1-year high of $257.81. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $245.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.47.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $8.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.50 by $2.39. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Reinsurance Group of America will post 29.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Reinsurance Group of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Reinsurance Group of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Reinsurance Group of America's payout ratio is presently 17.22%.

Insider Activity at Reinsurance Group of America

In other Reinsurance Group of America news, EVP Jonathan Porter sold 8,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,666,175.50. This represents a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Reinsurance Group of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America in the 4th quarter worth $173,767,000. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the first quarter valued at about $81,533,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the second quarter worth about $82,836,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 2,626.6% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 195,794 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,973,000 after acquiring an additional 188,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 965.2% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 179,440 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,158,000 after acquiring an additional 162,594 shares during the last quarter. 95.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Reinsurance Group of America

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

RGA offers traditional reinsurance and financial solutions for individual life insurance, group life and health coverage, retirement and annuity products, long-term care and disability insurance.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.