RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to "Overweight" Rating

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $284.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $282.00 target price (down previously from $304.00) on shares of RenaissanceRe in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America cut their target price on RenaissanceRe from $437.00 to $426.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on RenaissanceRe from $288.00 to $277.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut RenaissanceRe from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $284.00 to $234.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on RenaissanceRe from $318.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $280.80.

RenaissanceRe Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of RenaissanceRe stock traded up $5.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $237.92. The company had a trading volume of 524,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,210. The company has a 50 day moving average of $236.93 and a 200 day moving average of $254.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.29. RenaissanceRe has a 52-week low of $208.98 and a 52-week high of $300.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The insurance provider reported $8.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.94 by $1.12. RenaissanceRe had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.99%. On average, equities analysts predict that RenaissanceRe will post 26.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RenaissanceRe Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from RenaissanceRe's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. RenaissanceRe's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David E. Marra sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.16, for a total value of $254,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,392 shares in the company, valued at $20,178,270.72. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in RenaissanceRe during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 121 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 1,587.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 135 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in RenaissanceRe by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 99.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About RenaissanceRe

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.