Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $327.1429.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,040,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,968,000 after purchasing an additional 29,974 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant in the second quarter worth $1,345,211,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Assurant by 22.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,121,000 after purchasing an additional 205,767 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Assurant during the second quarter valued at $269,635,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $161,574,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of AIZ opened at $267.54 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $281.91 and its 200 day moving average is $256.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Assurant has a 12-month low of $206.03 and a 12-month high of $303.94. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.54.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.56 EPS. Research analysts expect that Assurant will post 22.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global business services and insurance company that provides protection products and services supporting major purchases and everyday needs. Its offerings are designed to help consumers, businesses and distribution partners manage risks associated with connected devices, housing and transportation.

The company’s Lifestyle segment provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts, vehicle service contracts and related services. Its Global Housing segment offers renters insurance, homeowners insurance, lender-placed insurance and other specialty property products.