Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Assurant hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $259.28, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Wall Street analysts remain broadly positive: several firms raised price targets, and the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $272.17.
• The company delivered a solid quarterly beat, posting $5.95 EPS versus $5.29 expected and revenue of $3.42 billion, while institutional ownership remains very high at 92.65%.

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $259.28 and last traded at $258.2750, with a volume of 31231 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $254.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Assurant from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Assurant from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Assurant from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $272.17.

Assurant Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $225.47 and its 200-day moving average is $228.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at $3,213,592.28. This trade represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $609,484.35. This trade represents a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,650 shares of company stock valued at $1,061,871 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Assurant by 23.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,010,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,085,247,000 after acquiring an additional 959,259 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth approximately $161,574,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 676.5% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 240,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,862,000 after purchasing an additional 209,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 122.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 322,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,610,000 after purchasing an additional 177,642 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.

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