Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price target on Assurant in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $276.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant has a twelve month low of $183.39 and a twelve month high of $284.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $264.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.14.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Assurant will post 21.04 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $511,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,818.88. The trade was a 42.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total transaction of $1,838,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,191,423.54. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 14,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,787,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Assurant by 14.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in Assurant by 81.4% in the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 21.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.