Wall Street Zen Upgrades Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from “hold” to “buy,” joining several analysts with positive ratings. The stock has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $324.29.
• Assurant reported quarterly EPS of $6.41, exceeding expectations of $5.17, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year to $3.45 billion.
• Institutional investors own 92.65% of Assurant, with major firms including BlackRock, Bank of New York Mellon, and Bank of America recently building new positions.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Assurant in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $324.29.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $266.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50-day moving average is $279.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.44. Assurant has a 1 year low of $206.03 and a 1 year high of $303.94.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 22.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth $1,345,211,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Assurant in the second quarter valued at $1,269,591,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the second quarter worth about $269,635,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 22.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,125,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $245,121,000 after purchasing an additional 205,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 9.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 632,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,851,000 after purchasing an additional 53,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global business services company that provides insurance products and related services supporting major purchases and everyday needs. Its offerings are distributed through partnerships with mobile carriers, retailers, automotive manufacturers and dealers, financial institutions, housing providers, and other businesses.

Through its Global Lifestyle business, Assurant provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts, vehicle service contracts, and related protection products.

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