Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $228.67.

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

Assurant Stock Up 0.3%

Assurant stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $196.81. 484,438 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,278. 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 has a twelve month low of $160.12 and a twelve month high of $230.55. The company has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $197.25 and a 200-day moving average of $203.28.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total value of $201,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Assurant by 125.4% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 6,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 3,569 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Assurant in the first quarter valued at $2,132,000. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the first quarter valued at $585,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Assurant by 57.8% in the first 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 period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Assurant by 66.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.