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 May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 984,500 shares, an increase of 9.5% from the May 15th total of 898,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 343,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Assurant Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $168.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $172.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.19. Assurant has a fifty-two week low of $121.51 and a fifty-two week high of $189.48.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. Analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Assurant from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Assurant from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert Lonergan sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.12, for a total value of $475,524.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,484,710.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Assurant news, insider Robert Lonergan sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.12, for a total transaction of $475,524.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,484,710.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Francesca Luthi sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.36, for a total value of $1,181,612.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,895,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,788 shares of company stock worth $2,248,489 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Assurant by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 181,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,586,000 after acquiring an additional 13,395 shares in the last quarter. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at $1,988,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Assurant by 305.5% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 6,077 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Assurant by 1,035.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 51,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,595,000 after acquiring an additional 46,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Assurant by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 436,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,467,000 after purchasing an additional 69,522 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.