Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AIZ. Bank of America decreased their target price on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.40.

Assurant Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE AIZ traded up $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $190.62. 303,505 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,014. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $189.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant has a 52-week low of $144.61 and a 52-week high of $201.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Assurant will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. Capital Fund Management S.A. raised its holdings in Assurant by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 34,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,760,000 after purchasing an additional 5,028 shares in the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Gillson Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $27,013,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,089,000 after acquiring an additional 19,839 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by 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.