Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Holdings in Renasant Co. $RNST

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST) by 13.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Renasant were worth $529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Renasant during the first quarter valued at $28,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Renasant in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Renasant by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Renasant by 49.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Renasant in the first quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.31% of the company’s stock.

Renasant Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of RNST opened at $35.44 on Friday. Renasant Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.97 and a fifty-two week high of $40.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $269.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $271.96 million. Renasant had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 17.91%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Renasant Co. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Renasant Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from Renasant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Renasant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RNST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Renasant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Renasant in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Renasant from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.17.

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.