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

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $250.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AIZ shares. Truist Financial set a $255.00 price objective on Assurant in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th.

Assurant Stock Up 0.2%

AIZ opened at $228.72 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.54. Assurant has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $232.02. The firm has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Assurant’s payout ratio is 21.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $3,026,637.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,666,356.44. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 7.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 354,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,357,000 after purchasing an additional 24,153 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the second quarter valued at $268,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Assurant by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 8,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 80.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 103,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,649,000 after buying an additional 46,156 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,733,000 after buying an additional 2,446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.