StockNews.com Downgrades Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on AIZ. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Assurant in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assurant from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $204.60.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $177.39 on Thursday. Assurant has a 52-week low of $136.15 and a 52-week high of $189.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.35 and a 200 day moving average of $173.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.54.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Assurant will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $226,048.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,261,983.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Assurant news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,983.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert Lonergan sold 2,700 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.12, for a total value of $475,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,484,710.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,788 shares of company stock valued at $2,248,489. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 4.2% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Assurant by 3.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.