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

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $243.00.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Assurant from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Assurant from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Benchmark started coverage on Assurant in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th.

Assurant Trading Down 2.0%

AIZ opened at $208.05 on Wednesday. Assurant has a 1-year low of $174.97 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $213.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.05.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. 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. Shareholders 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 presently 23.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,666,356.44. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 3,900 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,642,173.75. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,917,925. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 3.8% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Assurant by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 4,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is 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.