Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) to Outperform

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was upgraded by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $230.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $212.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.15% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $199.73 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $210.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 27,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,868,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $270,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $791,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at $568,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $617,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently 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.