Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Short Interest Update

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 912,500 shares, an increase of 30.9% from the October 31st total of 697,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 363,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $227.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $203.46 and its 200-day moving average is $186.21. Assurant has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 15.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AIZ shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Assurant by 509.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.