Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $214.60.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AIZ. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Assurant Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $191.77 on Friday. Assurant has a 1 year low of $145.48 and a 1 year high of $201.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $194.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.73. The firm has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 4.2% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 3.3% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 62.1% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.