Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $228.83.

AIZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $186.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.17. Assurant has a 12 month low of $164.63 and a 12 month high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.55%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.78 EPS. Assurant’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,725.75. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 193.9% in the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 192.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 312.8% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

About Assurant

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.