Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $243.76 and last traded at $239.6630, with a volume of 161131 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $241.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday. Truist Financial set a $255.00 price target on shares of Assurant in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.67.

Assurant Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $225.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.88.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 6.75%.The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.42%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other Assurant news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $3,026,637.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,666,356.44. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,775,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,041,000 after acquiring an additional 88,749 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Assurant by 23.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,010,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,085,247,000 after purchasing an additional 959,259 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Assurant by 4.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,245,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,879,000 after buying an additional 53,773 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Assurant by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $186,808,000 after buying an additional 113,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Assurant by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 665,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,588,000 after buying an additional 150,907 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.