RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• RenaissanceRe reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $352.20 and recently around $350.58, above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $337.50, despite several target-price increases.
• The company reported strong quarterly performance, including $12.92 EPS, a 23.10% return on equity and a 23.65% net margin; it also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, yielding approximately 0.5%.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $352.20 and last traded at $350.5750, with a volume of 24,958 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $351.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on RNR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on RenaissanceRe from $342.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised RenaissanceRe from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wolfe Research set a $315.00 target price on RenaissanceRe in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on RenaissanceRe from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on RenaissanceRe from $325.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $337.50.

RenaissanceRe Stock Down 0.1%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.02, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.12.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The insurance provider reported $12.92 earnings per share for the quarter. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will post 45.66 EPS for the current year.

RenaissanceRe Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at RenaissanceRe

In other news, EVP Robert Qutub sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 owned 72,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,280,218.21. This trade represents a 6.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RenaissanceRe

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RNR. Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in RenaissanceRe in the second quarter valued at about $4,092,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 38.6% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 136,192 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,159,000 after purchasing an additional 37,903 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new position in RenaissanceRe during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,202,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,242,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,878,000. 99.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RenaissanceRe Company Profile

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance products. The company specializes in helping insurers, businesses and other organizations manage financial risk arising from natural catastrophes, specialty exposures and certain casualty risks.

RenaissanceRe's reinsurance activities include property catastrophe coverage, as well as casualty and specialty reinsurance. Through its insurance operations, the company provides coverage for areas such as property, casualty and other specialty risks.

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