Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 613,200 shares, an increase of 45.5% from the February 28th total of 421,300 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 519,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Reinsurance Group of America

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Reinsurance Group of America by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 136 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Reinsurance Group of America by 333.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 156 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Reinsurance Group of America by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 290 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 95.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Reinsurance Group of America Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:RGA traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $196.85. 314,651 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.15. Reinsurance Group of America has a twelve month low of $178.84 and a twelve month high of $233.81. The company has a market capitalization of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $204.94 and a 200 day moving average of $213.54.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The insurance provider reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.22 by ($0.23). Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 3.24%. On average, analysts forecast that Reinsurance Group of America will post 22.9 EPS for the current year.

Reinsurance Group of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Reinsurance Group of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RGA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Reinsurance Group of America from $280.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Reinsurance Group of America from $245.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on Reinsurance Group of America from $255.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Reinsurance Group of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.85.

Reinsurance Group of America Company Profile

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated engages in reinsurance business. The company offers individual and group life and health insurance products, such as term life, credit life, universal life, whole life, group life and health, joint and last survivor insurance, critical illness, disability, and longevity products; asset-intensive and financial reinsurance products; and other capital motivated solutions.