RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,434,887 shares, an increase of 30.5% from the November 30th total of 1,099,875 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 355,777 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 355,777 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RNR. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in RenaissanceRe by 707.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 113 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe in the third quarter worth $29,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 160.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 117 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 80.9% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 151.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 99.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of RenaissanceRe from $278.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $303.00 price target on shares of RenaissanceRe in a report on Friday, December 5th. Evercore ISI set a $244.00 target price on RenaissanceRe and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on RenaissanceRe in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.29.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

NYSE RNR traded down $2.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $281.14. The stock had a trading volume of 218,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,577. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.08. The company has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.26. RenaissanceRe has a 52-week low of $219.00 and a 52-week high of $285.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The insurance provider reported $15.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.49 by $6.13. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. RenaissanceRe had a return on equity of 16.83% and a net margin of 14.23%.RenaissanceRe’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that RenaissanceRe will post 26.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RenaissanceRe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. RenaissanceRe’s dividend payout ratio is 4.45%.

About RenaissanceRe

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance solutions, specializing in property catastrophe, casualty, and specialty lines. Established in 1993 and headquartered in Bermuda, the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RNR. With a focus on underwriting and risk assessment, RenaissanceRe offers tailored programs designed to help insurers and corporations manage exposure to natural disasters, liability claims, and other complex risks.

The company operates through two primary segments: Reinsurance and Insurance.