Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on AIZ. UBS Group raised their price objective on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $278.94. 404,252 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,605. Assurant has a 1 year low of $183.39 and a 1 year high of $284.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $257.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Assurant will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total value of $1,838,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Assurant by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,076,000 after buying an additional 16,388 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 185,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,786,000 after acquiring an additional 26,678 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 2.1% during the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 310,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,320,000 after acquiring an additional 6,277 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 198.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 7,983 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 349,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,144,000 after acquiring an additional 5,462 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.