Renasant Corp $RNST Shares Purchased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management increased its Renasant stake by 10% in the fourth quarter, adding 85,961 shares and ending with 948,159 shares valued at about $33.4 million.
• Renasant reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.93 EPS versus the $0.84 estimate and revenue of $278.5 million, while analysts now expect $3.73 EPS for the full year.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share from $0.23, implying an annualized yield of 2.3%; meanwhile, several analysts maintain a Buy outlook with a consensus price target of $45.50.

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Renasant Corp (NYSE:RNST - Free Report) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 948,159 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 85,961 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.00% of Renasant worth $33,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Algebris UK Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Renasant by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 215,315 shares of the company's stock worth $7,587,000 after acquiring an additional 62,183 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Renasant by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,464 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Renasant by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,352 shares of the company's stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Renasant by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,652 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares during the period. Finally, Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Renasant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. 77.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Renasant

In related news, Director Albert J. Dale III sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 40,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,594,985. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Kelly Hutcheson sold 1,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.65, for a total transaction of $52,177.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 16,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $646,537.20. This represents a 7.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,704 shares of company stock valued at $619,656 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.07% of the company's stock.

Renasant Stock Up 0.1%

RNST stock opened at $41.04 on Monday. Renasant Corp has a 12 month low of $33.04 and a 12 month high of $42.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Renasant (NYSE:RNST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. Renasant had a net margin of 14.47% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $278.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Renasant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Renasant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RNST. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Renasant from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Renasant from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Renasant from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Renasant in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Renasant has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Renasant Profile

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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