RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a decrease of 18.7% from the October 31st total of 1,660,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 418,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

Shares of RenaissanceRe stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $286.15. 244,225 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 358,827. RenaissanceRe has a 1 year low of $188.24 and a 1 year high of $300.00. The company has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $270.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The insurance provider reported $10.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.89 by $2.34. RenaissanceRe had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that RenaissanceRe will post 41.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RenaissanceRe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. RenaissanceRe’s payout ratio is 2.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $287.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $229.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $274.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $280.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of RenaissanceRe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David E. Marra sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.00, for a total value of $269,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,338,836. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RenaissanceRe

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RNR. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 94.8% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after purchasing an additional 3,863 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe in the first quarter valued at about $1,168,000. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe in the first quarter valued at about $201,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 96.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 569 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Polianta Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe in the second quarter valued at about $1,206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.