Short Interest in RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) Drops By 18.7%

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

RenaissanceRe Stock Down 0.8 %

RenaissanceRe stock opened at $284.00 on Monday. RenaissanceRe has a 52 week low of $188.24 and a 52 week high of $300.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $270.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.90. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The insurance provider reported $10.23 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that RenaissanceRe will post 41.94 earnings per share for the current year.

RenaissanceRe Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David E. Marra sold 1,000 shares of RenaissanceRe stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $279,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 82,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,890,276. This trade represents a 1.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RenaissanceRe

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RNR. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,865,000 after purchasing an additional 3,863 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,168,000. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in RenaissanceRe by 96.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 569 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Polianta Ltd purchased a new stake in RenaissanceRe in the 2nd quarter worth $1,206,000. 99.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on RNR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of RenaissanceRe from $316.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays initiated coverage on RenaissanceRe in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $287.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of RenaissanceRe from $274.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded RenaissanceRe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on RenaissanceRe from $270.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.00.

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.