Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target Raised to $377.00

Key Points

• UBS raised Assurant’s price target to $377 from $331 and maintained a Buy rating, implying about 16.9% upside from the stock’s then-current price. Analysts’ consensus rating is Buy, with an average target of $341.86.
• Assurant reported quarterly EPS of $6.15, beating the $4.75 consensus, while revenue of $3.53 billion also topped expectations and rose 9.2% year over year.
• The shares rose 1.7% to $322.48 in Tuesday trading, near their 12-month high; institutional investors own 92.65% of the stock.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $331.00 to $377.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 16.91% from the company's current price.

AIZ has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Zacks Research raised Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $341.86.

Assurant Stock Up 1.7%

AIZ traded up $5.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $322.48. 429,180 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 395,156. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $281.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Assurant has a 12-month low of $209.86 and a 12-month high of $322.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.52.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $6.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $1.40. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.48 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.44% and a net margin of 7.80%. The company's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.73 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Assurant will post 22.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 181.6% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth $1,872,000. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 360.6% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,524,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Assurant during the third quarter valued at $1,496,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the third quarter valued at $3,487,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc. is a global provider of insurance products and services, with a focus on protecting purchases and supporting housing-related needs. Its operations are organized around Global Housing and Global Lifestyle. Through its housing business, Assurant offers products and services such as renters, manufactured housing, and lender-placed insurance, along with related claims and risk-management solutions. Its lifestyle business provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts, vehicle protection products, and support services for consumers and business partners.

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