Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group upgraded Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) from hold to strong-buy, adding to a broadly positive analyst sentiment on the stock.
• Other firms have also been raising views and price targets, with the consensus now at a Moderate Buy and an average target price of $255. Analyst opinions include one Strong Buy, seven Buys, two Holds, and one Sell.
• RGA reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $6.97 versus the $6.03 estimate and revenue up 23.5% year over year; the stock recently traded near its 52-week high at $238.93.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $268.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $261.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.00.

Reinsurance Group of America Stock Performance

Shares of RGA opened at $238.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.82. The stock has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.47. Reinsurance Group of America has a 52 week low of $165.52 and a 52 week high of $245.00.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $6.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.94. Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 4.92%.The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Reinsurance Group of America will post 26.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Reinsurance Group of America news, EVP Ronald Herrmann sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.58, for a total transaction of $1,474,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,264.04. This trade represents a 64.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Hayden sold 414 shares of Reinsurance Group of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.95, for a total transaction of $88,989.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,987.55. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Reinsurance Group of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Reinsurance Group of America during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Tobam lifted its stake in Reinsurance Group of America by 244.7% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 95.11% of the company's stock.

About Reinsurance Group of America

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated NYSE: RGA is a leading global provider of life and health reinsurance solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, RGA partners with primary insurance companies to help them manage risk, improve capital efficiency and develop innovative products. The company's offerings span traditional risk transfer, financial solutions and facultative underwriting services, enabling clients to address a wide range of mortality, longevity, morbidity and critical-illness exposures.

RGA's product suite includes life reinsurance, living benefits reinsurance, structured reinsurance and financial solutions that support product innovation and capital management.

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