United Services Automobile Association Makes New Investment in RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. $RNR

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has acquired a new position in RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., purchasing 3,288 shares valued at approximately $797,000.
• RenaissanceRe's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $12.29, exceeding analysts' estimates of $10.28, though revenues declined 2.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, with a dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 4.09%.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,288 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in RenaissanceRe by 151.7% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 146 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC bought a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 116.5% during the first quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 10.5% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 441 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 165.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 464 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 99.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RNR. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $269.00 price target (up previously from $267.00) on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $256.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of RenaissanceRe to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $282.09.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

Shares of RNR stock traded up $6.06 on Thursday, hitting $244.57. 323,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 338,613. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.25, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.29. RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. has a 52 week low of $219.00 and a 52 week high of $300.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $12.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.28 by $2.01. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. RenaissanceRe had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 15.00%. The company's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $12.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will post 26.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RenaissanceRe Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. RenaissanceRe's payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

RenaissanceRe Profile

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Property, and Casualty and Specialty segments. The Property segment writes property catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance and excess of loss reinsurance to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes, including hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis, as well as winter storms, freezes, floods, fires, windstorms, tornadoes, explosions, and acts of terrorism; and other property class of products, such as proportional reinsurance, property per risk, property reinsurance, binding facilities, and regional U.S.