Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 755,500 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the September 30th total of 709,200 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 333,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % 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. In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of Assurant 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Assurant in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.60.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ traded up $2.28 on Friday, reaching $193.98. 18,526 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 343,330. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $194.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.21. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant has a 12 month low of $158.29 and a 12 month high of $201.55.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Assurant will post 14.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is 19.19%.

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.