Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

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

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $217.00 price objective on Assurant and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.67.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ stock traded down $2.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $191.26. The company had a trading volume of 462,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,799. Assurant has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average is $197.76 and its 200 day moving average is $202.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.55%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,725.75. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Assurant by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Assurant by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Assurant by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Company Profile

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.