Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Assurant (NYSE:AIZ)

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.94% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AIZ. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.50.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $224.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.81.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.29 earnings per share. Assurant’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 15.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 62.1% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Assurant by 509.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Assurant in the third quarter worth about $42,000. 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.