Comerica Bank Increases Holdings in Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST)

Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST) by 55.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,709 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Renasant were worth $1,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Renasant by 73.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Renasant by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Renasant during the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Renasant during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Renasant during the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. 77.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Renasant news, CAO Kelly Hutcheson sold 1,310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $48,103.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,757.92. This represents a 6.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Renasant from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stephens upped their price objective on Renasant from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Renasant from $34.50 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Renasant from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Renasant from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Renasant Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of RNST stock opened at $33.82 on Monday. Renasant Co. has a 52-week low of $26.97 and a 52-week high of $39.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.05.

Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. Renasant had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 17.91%. The business had revenue of $170.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Renasant Co. will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Renasant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Renasant’s payout ratio is presently 27.33%.

About Renasant

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. The company operates through Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management segments. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and factoring equipment leasing services, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities.