Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $228.67.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Assurant and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Assurant from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Assurant Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:AIZ opened at $194.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant has a twelve month low of $160.12 and a twelve month high of $230.55. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $196.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. Assurant's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.78 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Assurant's payout ratio is 24.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of Assurant by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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