Maltese Capital Management LLC Sells 34,979 Shares of Renasant Corp $RNST

Key Points

• Maltese Capital Management cut its Renasant position by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,979 shares and leaving it with 117,521 shares valued at about $4.14 million.
• Renasant continues to get bullish analyst attention, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.50 after recent reaffirmations and upgrades from several firms.
• The bank reported solid results and raised its dividend, posting quarterly EPS of $0.93 versus estimates of $0.84 and increasing its quarterly payout to $0.24 per share from $0.23.

Maltese Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Renasant Corp (NYSE:RNST - Free Report) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,521 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,979 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Renasant worth $4,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RNST. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Renasant by 128.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 52,238 shares of the company's stock worth $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 29,380 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Renasant by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Renasant during the 1st quarter worth about $67,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Renasant by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 189,105 shares of the company's stock worth $6,416,000 after purchasing an additional 23,072 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Renasant during the 1st quarter worth about $390,000. Institutional investors own 77.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RNST shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Renasant in a report on Friday, June 5th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Renasant from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Renasant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Renasant in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $45.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Renasant

In other Renasant news, Vice Chairman C Mitchell Waycaster sold 12,704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.50, for a total value of $501,808.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 183,235 shares in the company, valued at $7,237,782.50. The trade was a 6.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Albert J. Dale III sold 1,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $65,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,594,985. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,611 shares of company stock worth $618,889 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.07% of the company's stock.

Renasant Stock Performance

NYSE RNST opened at $42.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $40.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.24. Renasant Corp has a twelve month low of $33.04 and a twelve month high of $43.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Renasant (NYSE:RNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $278.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $275.71 million. Renasant had a net margin of 14.47% and a return on equity of 8.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Renasant Corp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Renasant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This is an increase from Renasant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Renasant's payout ratio is presently 38.17%.

About Renasant

Renasant Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Renasant Bank that provides a range of financial, wealth management, fiduciary, and insurance services to retail and commercial customers. It operates through three segments: Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and equipment leasing services, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities. It also provides commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; equipment financing and leasing; real estate–1-4 family mortgage; real estate–commercial mortgage; real estate–construction loans for the construction of single family residential properties, multi-family properties, and commercial projects; installment loans to individuals; and interim construction loans, as well as automated teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, call center, and treasury management services.

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