Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AIZ. UBS Group raised their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lowered Assurant from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $209.00.

Assurant Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AIZ opened at $199.95 on Tuesday. Assurant has a 1 year low of $141.83 and a 1 year high of $201.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.91. The firm has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Assurant will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the 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 owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 32.5% during the second 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. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter worth $39,013,000. Gillson Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $27,013,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,194,000 after purchasing an additional 139,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 20.4% during the second 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. 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.