Brokerages Set Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) PT at $207.60

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $207.60.

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ opened at $196.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.54. 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 has a 12-month low of $136.88 and a 12-month high of $197.68.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $103,642.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $267,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,253,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 32.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,179,000 after purchasing an additional 255,471 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Assurant in the first quarter valued at $39,013,000. Gillson Capital LP acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth $27,013,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Assurant by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after purchasing an additional 139,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.