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

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

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

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $201.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Assurant has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The firm has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction 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 approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 503.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.