StockNews.com Downgrades Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

AIZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Assurant in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $204.60.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ traded up $7.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $177.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 388,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,469. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $169.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.56. Assurant has a one year low of $136.15 and a one year high of $189.48. The company has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.54.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 20.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Assurant will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,261,983.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total value of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,983.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,084 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.29, for a total transaction of $365,304.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $648,923.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,788 shares of company stock valued at $2,248,489 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Assurant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Assurant by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.