Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Short Interest Up 30.9% in November

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 912,500 shares, an increase of 30.9% from the October 31st total of 697,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 363,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 770.1% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 11,551 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Assurant by 44.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Assurant by 443.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 10,587 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 256.5% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Up 0.0 %

AIZ stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $227.10. 231,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,349. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $203.46 and its 200-day moving average is $186.13. Assurant has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The company has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Assurant will post 15.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

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.