Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Stock Position in RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. $RNR

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia cut its RenaissanceRe stake by 92.3% in the first quarter, selling 17,935 shares and retaining 1,500 shares worth approximately $446,000.
• Analysts raised their price targets following RenaissanceRe’s strong quarterly results, including EPS of $12.92 versus the $11.72 consensus and revenue of $2.77 billion versus $2.57 billion expected. Despite five Buy ratings, the consensus rating remains Hold with a $336.33 price target.
• RenaissanceRe declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, equivalent to $1.64 annually and a 0.5% yield; an executive also sold 5,000 shares valued at roughly $1.67 million.

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR - Free Report) by 92.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 17,935 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in RenaissanceRe were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RNR. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in RenaissanceRe during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 132 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 235.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 134 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 147 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 99.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on RNR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of RenaissanceRe from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of RenaissanceRe from $328.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on RenaissanceRe from $342.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upped their price target on RenaissanceRe from $410.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on RenaissanceRe from $306.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $336.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Qutub sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.03, for a total value of $1,665,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 72,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,280,218.21. This trade represents a 6.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

Shares of RNR opened at $318.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. has a 1-year low of $231.17 and a 1-year high of $335.97. The stock has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a PE ratio of 5.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $307.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $300.10.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $12.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.72 by $1.20. RenaissanceRe had a return on equity of 23.10% and a net margin of 23.65%.The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $12.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will post 41.68 EPS for the current year.

RenaissanceRe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. RenaissanceRe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.81%.

RenaissanceRe Profile

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.

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