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

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $316.5714.

AIZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock opened at $287.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $276.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.10. The company has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant has a 1-year low of $205.01 and a 1-year high of $303.94.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.40%. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assurant will post 22.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Nair Biju sold 3,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,333,747.62. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Assurant by 606.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Assurant by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,987,000 after acquiring an additional 47,548 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 66.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 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.