Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.1667.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cowen assumed coverage on Renasant in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded Renasant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $40.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Renasant from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Renasant in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Renasant Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNST opened at $33.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.95. Renasant has a twelve month low of $26.97 and a twelve month high of $40.40.

Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.02). Renasant had a return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 17.91%.The business had revenue of $269.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.96 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Renasant will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Renasant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. This is an increase from Renasant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Renasant’s payout ratio is currently 44.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Renasant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RNST. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Renasant by 292.4% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 68,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 51,161 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Renasant by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 459,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,578,000 after purchasing an additional 150,929 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Renasant during the 1st quarter valued at about $296,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Renasant by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 606,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,592,000 after buying an additional 63,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Renasant by 31.5% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 24,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 5,802 shares in the last quarter. 77.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.