Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $259.28 and last traded at $258.2750, with a volume of 31231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Assurant from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Assurant from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.17.

Assurant Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $225.47 and its 200-day moving average is $228.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.56. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $395,796.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,484.35. This trade represents a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total transaction of $158,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,256.18. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 4,650 shares of company stock valued at $1,061,871 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 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.