Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

AIZ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.60.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $192.24 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $180.81 and a 200-day moving average of $176.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant has a 12 month low of $137.50 and a 12 month high of $199.50. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,253,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 32.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,179,000 after acquiring an additional 255,471 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in Assurant in the first quarter valued at $39,013,000. Gillson Capital LP purchased a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at $27,013,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Assurant by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,194,000 after purchasing an additional 139,680 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by 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.