Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $32.47, but opened at $33.86. Renasant shares last traded at $33.23, with a volume of 27,720 shares.

The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Renasant had a net margin of 15.04% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The company had revenue of $318.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS.

Renasant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Renasant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James upgraded Renasant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stephens upgraded shares of Renasant from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Renasant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Hovde Group raised shares of Renasant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Renasant from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Renasant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Renasant

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RNST. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Renasant by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 168,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 30,630 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Renasant by 74.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 41,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 17,836 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Renasant during the first quarter valued at about $4,124,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Renasant by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,416,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,121,000 after buying an additional 16,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Renasant by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 11,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.31% of the company’s stock.

Renasant Trading Up 3.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Renasant Company Profile

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.