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

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $243.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AIZ. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $238.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th.

Assurant Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $208.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.05. 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 has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $230.55.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 23.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $3,026,637.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,666,356.44. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.53, for a total transaction of $813,267.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,875 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,173.75. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 27,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,917,925 in the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Assurant by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,775,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,338,041,000 after purchasing an additional 88,749 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Assurant by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,051,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $800,054,000 after buying an additional 310,455 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Assurant by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,479,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,285,000 after buying an additional 323,573 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Assurant by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,245,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,879,000 after buying an additional 53,773 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Assurant by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 889,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $186,533,000 after buying an additional 72,046 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.