RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $12.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.28 by $2.01, Zacks reports. RenaissanceRe had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $12.41 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

RenaissanceRe Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of RenaissanceRe stock traded up $7.01 on Friday, hitting $246.01. 514,043 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 495,351. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.29, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.30. RenaissanceRe has a 52-week low of $219.00 and a 52-week high of $300.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $242.33 and its 200 day moving average is $241.54.

RenaissanceRe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. RenaissanceRe's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on RNR. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $269.00 price objective (up from $267.00) on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of RenaissanceRe from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $284.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $268.00 target price (down previously from $282.00) on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO James Christopher Fraser sold 332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.54, for a total value of $82,847.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 27,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,776,009.16. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of RenaissanceRe

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe during the first quarter worth $15,289,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in RenaissanceRe by 72.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 57,186 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,725,000 after acquiring an additional 24,027 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 39.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,687 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,325,000 after buying an additional 2,737 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 900.0% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,350 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 1,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.97% of the company's stock.

RenaissanceRe Company 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.