Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target 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, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.14.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $306.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.52. Assurant has a 52 week low of $209.86 and a 52 week high of $316.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $280.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.27.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $6.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $1.40. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.44% and a net margin of 7.80%. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Assurant will post 22.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Assurant during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,345,211,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at $1,269,591,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth $269,635,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Assurant by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,121,000 after buying an additional 205,767 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Assurant by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 632,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,851,000 after buying an additional 53,470 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of insurance products and services, with a focus on protecting purchases and supporting housing-related needs. Its operations are organized around Global Housing and Global Lifestyle.

Through its housing business, Assurant offers products and services such as renters, manufactured housing, and lender-placed insurance, along with related claims and risk-management solutions. Its lifestyle business provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts, vehicle protection products, and support services for consumers and business partners.

The company serves customers and business partners in markets across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.