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

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $234.17.

AIZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity at Assurant

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Assurant by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $708,016,000 after acquiring an additional 891,292 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,724,000 after acquiring an additional 10,956 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,392,000 after acquiring an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Assurant by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,370,000 after acquiring an additional 156,364 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth $143,475,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $211.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Assurant has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.64. The company has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. Analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.