Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) decreased by 32.4%, with 334,200 shares short sold as of August 15, down from 494,300 shares at the end of July.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.93 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 32.29%.
• Wall Street analysts have varying opinions on the stock, with seven rating it as a Buy and four as a Hold, while consensus target price stands at $242.27.

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 334,200 shares, a drop of 32.4% from the July 31st total of 494,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 404,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Based on an average daily volume of 404,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Reinsurance Group of America

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Reinsurance Group of America by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,783 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,901 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 164.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 148 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 1,265.2% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 6,553 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 171,402 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,984,000 after purchasing an additional 12,217 shares during the last quarter. 95.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Reinsurance Group of America from $237.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Reinsurance Group of America from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Reinsurance Group of America from $249.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.27.

Reinsurance Group of America Price Performance

RGA stock traded down $2.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $192.13. The stock had a trading volume of 330,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,884. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Reinsurance Group of America has a twelve month low of $159.25 and a twelve month high of $233.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50-day moving average price is $191.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.70.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.58 by ($0.86). Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 3.54%.The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Reinsurance Group of America will post 22.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Reinsurance Group of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Reinsurance Group of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Reinsurance Group of America's payout ratio is presently 32.29%.

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.