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

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $250.00.

AIZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Assurant from $238.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ opened at $236.92 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $220.90 and its 200 day moving average is $209.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant has a 12-month low of $174.97 and a 12-month high of $237.96.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 18.61%. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.42%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $3,026,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,647 shares in the company, valued at $18,666,356.44. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambria Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 24.9% in the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,116,000. WBI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 120.4% in the 3rd quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 2,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at about $1,451,000. 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.