Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Stock

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $194.00 to $212.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential downside of 0.58% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $213.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant has a fifty-two week low of $159.32 and a fifty-two week high of $214.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.96. The company has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.57.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.29 EPS. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 15.05 EPS for the current year.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 7,415 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.