Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Short Interest Down 13.8% in August

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 896,400 shares, a drop of 13.8% from the July 31st total of 1,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 348,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.60.

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, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 62.1% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the second quarter valued at $51,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $196.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 508,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,523. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.21 and a 200-day moving average of $175.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.54. Assurant has a 12-month low of $136.88 and a 12-month high of $197.26.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

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.