Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

AIZ has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Assurant from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $207.60.

Assurant Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $192.24 on Thursday. Assurant has a 1-year low of $137.50 and a 1-year high of $199.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $180.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Assurant will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,179,000 after purchasing an additional 255,471 shares during the period. Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its position in Assurant by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 783,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,971,000 after buying an additional 15,074 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Assurant by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,194,000 after buying an additional 139,680 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Assurant by 1.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 698,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,159,000 after buying an additional 12,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $108,253,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.