Analysts Set Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target at $252.67

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $252.6667.

Several brokerages have weighed in on AIZ. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th.

Assurant Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE AIZ opened at $243.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.44 and a 200-day moving average of $220.80. Assurant has a 1-year low of $174.97 and a 1-year high of $246.31.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Assurant by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,110,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Assurant by 0.3% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 15,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,448,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Assurant by 3.8% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Assurant by 72.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Assurant

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.