Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 709,200 shares, a decline of 6.7% from the September 15th total of 759,900 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 340,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ traded up $1.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $198.75. 118,411 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 348,197. The company has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Assurant has a 12-month low of $144.61 and a 12-month high of $201.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.13.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. Assurant’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assurant will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,962.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Assurant by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at about $883,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $123,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by 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.