StockNews.com Lowers Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) to Hold

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on AIZ. Bank of America upped their price objective on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.60.

Assurant Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $196.97 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.13. Assurant has a 12-month low of $144.61 and a 12-month high of $201.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.90%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. Assurant’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Assurant by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Assurant by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.