Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $202.86 and last traded at $201.31, with a volume of 69128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.09.

The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.00.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Assurant by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,179,000 after purchasing an additional 255,471 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 1.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 698,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,159,000 after buying an additional 12,935 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Assurant by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,118,000 after buying an additional 96,021 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Assurant by 11,480.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 460,937 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Assurant by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 383,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Up 6.9 %

The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

About Assurant

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.