Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.60.

Assurant Stock Up 0.7 %

AIZ opened at $198.21 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.27. Assurant has a 1-year low of $144.61 and a 1-year high of $201.55. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Assurant will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,962.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,179,000 after buying an additional 255,471 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Assurant by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 698,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,159,000 after buying an additional 12,935 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Assurant by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,118,000 after buying an additional 96,021 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 383,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,765,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Assurant by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,089,000 after buying an additional 19,839 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.