Renasant (NYSE:RNST) Vice Chairman Sells $501,808.00 in Stock

Renasant Corp (NYSE:RNST) Vice Chairman C Mitchell Waycaster sold 12,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.50, for a total value of $501,808.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 183,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,237,782.50. This trade represents a 6.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Renasant Price Performance

Shares of RNST traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.98. 487,398 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 709,264. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.01. Renasant Corp has a 12 month low of $33.04 and a 12 month high of $42.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Renasant (NYSE:RNST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $278.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.71 million. Renasant had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 14.47%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Renasant Corp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Renasant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Renasant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Renasant’s payout ratio is currently 38.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RNST shares. Hovde Group upped their target price on Renasant from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Renasant from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Renasant in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Renasant from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.50.

Institutional Trading of Renasant

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jain Global LLC boosted its position in Renasant by 408.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 486,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,942,000 after acquiring an additional 390,733 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Renasant during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,815,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Renasant by 113.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 733,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,054,000 after acquiring an additional 389,155 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Renasant by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 370,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,671,000 after acquiring an additional 56,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Renasant during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,645,000. Institutional investors own 77.31% of the company’s stock.

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. It operates through three segments: Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and equipment leasing services, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities. It also provides commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; equipment financing and leasing; real estate–1-4 family mortgage; real estate–commercial mortgage; real estate–construction loans for the construction of single family residential properties, multi-family properties, and commercial projects; installment loans to individuals; and interim construction loans, as well as automated teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, call center, and treasury management services.