Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $277.26 on Friday. Assurant has a twelve month low of $183.39 and a twelve month high of $284.12. The firm has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $264.81 and a 200 day moving average of $241.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.01%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,191,423.54. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total transaction of $6,357,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,717,959.12. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Assurant by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 2.5% during the first quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.