Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Receives $229.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $229.50.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AIZ shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Assurant Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AIZ opened at $205.32 on Thursday. Assurant has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $214.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.89. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Assurant will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Assurant by 509.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Assurant by 62.1% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.