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

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 421,300 shares, an increase of 35.7% from the February 13th total of 310,500 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 504,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Reinsurance Group of America Price Performance

RGA stock traded up $1.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $192.82. 371,596 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 376,550. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95 and a beta of 0.91. Reinsurance Group of America has a 52-week low of $178.84 and a 52-week high of $233.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $209.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.78. 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 (NYSE:RGA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The insurance provider reported $4.99 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Reinsurance Group of America will post 22.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Reinsurance Group of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.15%.

Institutional Trading of Reinsurance Group of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 333.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 156 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RGA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $280.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $245.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Reinsurance Group of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.85.

About Reinsurance Group of America

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.