Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to Overweight Rating

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZFree Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. Piper Sandler currently has $223.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AIZ. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.17.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Assurant

Assurant Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of AIZ opened at $190.19 on Thursday. Assurant has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $204.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZGet Free Report) last issued 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 forecast that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Assurant by 219.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 503.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Assurant

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Assurant (NYSE:AIZ)

Receive News & Ratings for Assurant Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Assurant and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.