ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $208,000 in Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 5,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Renasant by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,955,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,549,000 after purchasing an additional 65,777 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Renasant by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,369,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,522,000 after acquiring an additional 705,344 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Renasant by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,746,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,775,000 after acquiring an additional 303,945 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Renasant by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,428,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,420,000 after acquiring an additional 153,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Renasant by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 734,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,879,000 after acquiring an additional 131,821 shares in the last quarter. 77.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Renasant Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RNST opened at $36.80 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $36.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.49. The company has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.03. Renasant Co. has a 12 month low of $27.98 and a 12 month high of $39.47.

Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Renasant had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 16.83%. The company had revenue of $318.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Renasant Co. will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Renasant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Renasant’s payout ratio is presently 28.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RNST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group downgraded Renasant from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Renasant in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.17.

Insider Transactions at Renasant

In related news, Director John Creekmore sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $914,166. The trade was a 11.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.