Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Assurant has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, highlighting positive sentiment toward the stock.
• Recent financial reports show that Assurant's earnings per share of $5.56 exceeded consensus estimates, with revenue also rising 8% year-over-year.
• A significant majority of analysts have a buy rating for Assurant, with an average target price of $228.83 suggesting potential for further appreciation.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.57.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE AIZ traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $211.39. The company had a trading volume of 130,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,528. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Assurant has a 1-year low of $174.97 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The company has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $193.96 and a 200-day moving average of $199.15.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.77 earnings per share. Assurant's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.17%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,377,725.75. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total transaction of $194,712.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $642,549.60. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Assurant during the second quarter worth about $131,300,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new position in Assurant during the second quarter worth about $8,590,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Assurant during the second quarter worth about $468,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Assurant by 3.8% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Assurant by 19,649.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,059,000 after buying an additional 35,565 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.