RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.’s RNR first-quarter 2019 operating earnings per share of $3.60 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.5%. Moreover, the bottom line improved 6% year over year on the back of solid revenues.Quarterly Operational UpdateRenaissanceRe’s first-quarter operating revenues of $635 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.1%. The top line even soared 53% year over year, driven by higher gross premiums written and net investment income.Gross premiums written surged 34.9% year over year on the back of Property segment as well as Casualty and Specialty segment.Net investment income is $81.5 million for the reported quarter, rising 44.2% year over year.RenaissanceRe’s total expenses were $446.5 million, up 36% year over year due to higher net claims and claim expenses, corporate expenses as well as acquisition expenses. Underwriting income of $154.1 million was up nearly 19% year over year on the back of solid segmental results.Combined ratio was 72% in the first quarter compared with the year-ago quarter’s tally of 70.6%.RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. QuoteQuarterly Segment UpdateProperty SegmentGross premiums written were $1 billion, up 46% year over year.Underwriting income of $152.4 million was up 20% year over year because of lower current accident-year net claims along with claim expenses and less number of insured catastrophe events. Combined ratio of 47.6% expanded 410 bps year over year.Casualty and Specialty SegmentGross premiums written were $531.9 million, up 17.5% from the prior-year quarter, driven by steady growth in new and current business.Underwriting income of $1.7 million plunged 65.4% from the year-earlier quarter’s income.Combined ratio of 99.3% deteriorated 50 basis points in the first quarter of 2019.Acquisition NewsIn the first quarter of 2019, the company’swholly owned subsidiary, RenaissanceRe Specialty Holdings, closed its buyouts of Tokio Millennium Re AG, Tokio Millennium Re (UK) Limited and their units.Financial Position As of Mar 31, 2019, total assets of RenaissanceRe were $24.6 billion, up 31.5% from the level as of 2018 end.The company had total debt of $1991 million as of Mar 31, 2019, up 20.2% from the 2018-end level.Cash and cash equivalents were $1021 million, down 7.8% from the figure at 2018 end.Book value per share was $111.05, up 6.6% year over year.Zacks Rank and Performance of Other PeersRenaissanceRe has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Among other players from the insurance industry having posted first-quarter earnings so far, the bottom-line results of The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV, Cincinnati Financial Corporation CINF and The Progressive Corporation PGR surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF): Free Stock Analysis Report The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV): Free Stock Analysis Report RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RNR): Free Stock Analysis Report The Progressive Corporation (PGR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research