Yahoo Finance RenaissanceRe (RNR) Renews Share Buyback, Gets a Hike to $500M
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. RNR recently announced that its share buyback program received an approval for renewal from its board of directors. Also, RNR announced a quarterly dividend of 37 cents per common share.
In the first quarter of 2022, RenaissanceRe bought back 576.7 thousand common shares worth $93.4 million. As of Mar 31, 2022, RNR had $489.1 million left under its share buyback program. Following the renewal of the repurchase plan, total funds for the same increased to $500 million. The program has no fixed date of expiration.
RenaissanceRe’s quarterly dividend of 37 cents per common share is in line with the previous payment but up 2.8% year over year. The dividend will be paid out on Jun 30, 2022, to its stockholders of record as of Jun 15. Considering the last day’s closing price of $148.94, RNR’s dividend yield currently stands at 1%. The yield is also significantly better than the industry average of 0.4%. RNR paid out $16.2 million of dividends in the March quarter.
Now let’s observe its financial situation to understand the sustainability of its capital-deployment activities in the long run. RNR’s total debt represents 16% of its capital, lower than the industry’s average of 19.1%. As of Mar 31, 2022, RNR had cash and cash equivalents worth $1,563.1 million, higher than its debt level of $1,168.9 million.
RenaissanceRe doesn’t have any additional debt maturing until 2025. Thus, its solvency position looks solid. Also, RNR generated operating cash flows of $1,197 million in the trailing 12-month period, which is an upside.
Price Performance
Shares of RenaissanceRe have declined 4.5% in the past year compared with a 1.1% fall of the industry it belongs to.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
RenaissanceRe currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the Insurance - Property and Casualty space are Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. ARGO, Everest Re Group, Ltd. RE and Palomar Holdings, Inc. PLMR, each presently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Based in Pembroke, Bermuda, Argo Group International is focused on divesting its non-core operations to boost profitability. ARGO’s bottom line for 2022 is expected to jump 255.5% year over year to $4.23 per share. The stock has witnessed one upward estimate revision in the past 30 days with no movement in the opposite direction.
Headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Everest Re Group’s insurance segment has maintained a steady performance in the past few years. RE expects both expense and loss ratios to improve going forward with higher premiums earned. The stock’s 2022 earnings per share are expected to rise 18.2% year over year to $34.25. RE beat on earnings twice in the last four quarters and missed on the metric on the other two occasions, the average surprise being 20.4%.
Premiums of Palomar Holdings, headquartered in La Jolla, CA, should benefit from a solid product portfolio, geographic expansion and rate increases. The 2022 bottom line is expected to rise 44.4% year over year to $2.96 per share. In the past 30 days, the stock has witnessed two upward estimate revisions with no downward movement. PLMR beat on earnings thrice in the last four quarters and missed on the same just once.
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RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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