Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $283.5714.

Several brokerages have recently commented on AIZ. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Assurant from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $511,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,818.88. This trade represents a 42.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at $3,213,592.28. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 31,630 shares of company stock worth $7,926,681 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 65.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Up 0.7%

AIZ opened at $262.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.56. Assurant has a 1-year low of $183.39 and a 1-year high of $265.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $242.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.66.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 18.01%.

About Assurant

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.