Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.80

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 16th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.80 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd.

Assurant has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Assurant has a payout ratio of 16.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Assurant to earn $17.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.8%.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $215.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $214.93 and its 200-day moving average is $199.62. Assurant has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.29 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Assurant will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.50.

Assurant Company Profile

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.