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

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $234.17.

A number of brokerages have commented on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 0.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Assurant by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $206.83 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $208.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant has a twelve month low of $160.12 and a twelve month high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

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.