Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $258.1667.

AIZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $216.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $225.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.65. Assurant has a 12-month low of $174.97 and a 12-month high of $246.31.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total value of $158,235.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,256.18. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at $609,484.35. This trade represents a 39.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,650 shares of company stock worth $558,331. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, BOKF NA acquired a new stake in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.