Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) Short Interest Up 17.2% in May

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 507,700 shares, an increase of 17.2% from the April 30th total of 433,200 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 450,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Reinsurance Group of America Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of RGA stock traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $201.35. 424,781 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 411,670. Reinsurance Group of America has a fifty-two week low of $159.25 and a fifty-two week high of $233.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.15. The stock has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $5.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $5.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.74 billion. Reinsurance Group of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 14.55%. Reinsurance Group of America's revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Reinsurance Group of America will post 22.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Reinsurance Group of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Reinsurance Group of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RGA has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Reinsurance Group of America from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $232.00 to $237.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $246.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $280.00 to $270.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $216.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.85.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Reinsurance Group of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGA. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Reinsurance Group of America by 389.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,123,022 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $239,911,000 after buying an additional 893,537 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America in the fourth quarter worth $174,082,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 67.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,511,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $297,699,000 after acquiring an additional 611,226 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,640,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,205,042,000 after acquiring an additional 564,693 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 54,931.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 474,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $93,512,000 after acquiring an additional 474,060 shares in the last quarter. 95.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Reinsurance Group of America Company Profile

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated engages in reinsurance business. The company offers individual and group life and health insurance products, such as term life, credit life, universal life, whole life, group life and health, joint and last survivor insurance, critical illness, disability, and longevity products; asset-intensive and financial reinsurance products; and other capital motivated solutions.

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