Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Issues Earnings Results

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.24, Zacks reports. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.

Assurant Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:AIZ traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $281.64. 425,472 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,831. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $267.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant has a fifty-two week low of $188.00 and a fifty-two week high of $284.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 18.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total transaction of $6,357,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,717,959.12. The trade was a 57.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total value of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at $3,213,592.28. This represents a 13.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 606.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,987,000 after purchasing an additional 47,548 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Assurant in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Assurant by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 target price on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

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.