Insider Selling: Renasant (NYSE:RNST) Director Sells 1,257 Shares of Stock

Renasant Corp (NYSE:RNST) Director Connie Engel sold 1,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.90, for a total transaction of $51,411.30. Following the sale, the director owned 15,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,864.10. This trade represents a 7.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Renasant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RNST traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $41.48. The stock had a trading volume of 634,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,694. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.03. Renasant Corp has a 1-year low of $33.04 and a 1-year high of $42.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Renasant (NYSE:RNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. Renasant had a net margin of 14.47% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $278.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Renasant Corp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Renasant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This is an increase from Renasant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Renasant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Renasant in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Renasant in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Renasant from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Renasant from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.50.

Institutional Trading of Renasant

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Renasant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,815,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Renasant by 178.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,261,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,566,000 after purchasing an additional 808,316 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Renasant by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,812,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,920,000 after purchasing an additional 595,609 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Renasant by 76.8% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 976,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,272,000 after purchasing an additional 423,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Renasant by 4,534.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 413,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,552,000 after purchasing an additional 404,258 shares in the last quarter. 77.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Renasant Company Profile

Renasant Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Renasant Bank that provides a range of financial, wealth management, fiduciary, and insurance services to retail and commercial customers. It operates through three segments: Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and equipment leasing services, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities. It also provides commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; equipment financing and leasing; real estate–1-4 family mortgage; real estate–commercial mortgage; real estate–construction loans for the construction of single family residential properties, multi-family properties, and commercial projects; installment loans to individuals; and interim construction loans, as well as automated teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, call center, and treasury management services.