Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $194.63 on Wednesday. Assurant has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $198.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.70.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Assurant by 192.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 219.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.