Assurant (NYSE: AIZ)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by Zacks in a research note issued to investors on Monday. They currently have a $43.00 price target on the stock.
Zacks’ analyst wrote, “Assurant’s first-quarter earnings outshined the Zacks Consensus Estimate led by significant contributions from Specialty Property, Health and Solutions as well as Employee Benefits, and a lower share count. Apparently, the company seems to have outperformed the Estimates, but a closer look at the results indicates a rather modest top-line growth. Earnings benefited primarily from higher bottom-line operating income across the segments and share repurchases. The Health segment at Assurant is expected to record a growth in top-line, while Employee Benefits will suffer from the loss of two disability clients. The Solutions Business is anticipated to record marginal growth, whereas the Specialty line of business will likely suffer from declining outstanding mortgage loans. Given the limited scope for top-line growth, it is evident that earnings growth will depend on capital management, primarily share buybacks, in the upcoming quarters.”
AIZ has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) downgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note to investors on Wednesday, April 11st. Separately, analysts at Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Wednesday, March 21st. They now have a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Sterne Agee downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note to investors on Thursday, February 23rd. They now have a $52.00 price target on the stock.
Shares of Assurant traded down 0.69% during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $40.36. Assurant has a one year low of $30.65 and a one year high of $44.54. The company has a market cap of $3.583 billion and a P/E ratio of 6.78.
The company last announced its quarterly results on Wednesday, April 25th. It reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the previous quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $1.43 EPS by $0.38. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Assurant will post $1.25 earnings per share next quarter.
Assurant, Inc. (Assurant) is a provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected international markets.
