Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $258.53 and last traded at $256.99, with a volume of 310385 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $251.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on RGA shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Reinsurance Group of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Barclays set a $292.00 target price on Reinsurance Group of America in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Reinsurance Group of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Reinsurance Group of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.78.

Reinsurance Group of America Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a market cap of $16.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $246.22 and its 200-day moving average is $225.12.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $8.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $2.39. Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 5.81%.The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated will post 29.71 EPS for the current year.

Reinsurance Group of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. This is a positive change from Reinsurance Group of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Reinsurance Group of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.22%.

Insider Activity at Reinsurance Group of America

In other news, EVP Jonathan Porter sold 8,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.30, for a total value of $2,115,470.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,666,175.50. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Reinsurance Group of America

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $81,533,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America during the 2nd quarter worth $82,836,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 2,626.6% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 195,794 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,973,000 after purchasing an additional 188,613 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Reinsurance Group of America by 965.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 179,440 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,158,000 after acquiring an additional 162,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Reinsurance Group of America by 44.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 335,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,543,000 after purchasing an additional 102,698 shares in the last quarter. 95.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Reinsurance Group of America

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) is a global provider of life and health reinsurance. The company helps insurance organizations manage mortality, longevity, morbidity and other insurance risks by assuming portions of their business and providing capital, risk-management expertise and specialized underwriting support.

RGA offers traditional reinsurance and financial solutions for individual life insurance, group life and health coverage, retirement and annuity products, long-term care and disability insurance.