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

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $327.1429.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIZ. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price objective on Assurant in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $281.81 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $282.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.57. Assurant has a twelve month low of $206.03 and a twelve month high of $303.94. The company has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Assurant will post 22.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191,423.54. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,333,747.62. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 26.3% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 9.5% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at $173,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 956.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 14,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,777,000 after buying an additional 12,734 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global business services and insurance company that provides protection products and services supporting major purchases and everyday needs. Its offerings are designed to help consumers, businesses and distribution partners manage risks associated with connected devices, housing and transportation.

The company’s Lifestyle segment provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts, vehicle service contracts and related services. Its Global Housing segment offers renters insurance, homeowners insurance, lender-placed insurance and other specialty property products.