Piper Sandler Upgrades Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) to “Overweight”

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

AIZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial increased 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Down 0.5 %

Assurant stock opened at $189.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.13. Assurant has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related 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 transaction of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,016,000 after purchasing an additional 891,292 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,724,000 after buying an additional 10,956 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 831,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,370,000 after buying an additional 156,364 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $143,475,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 607,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,522,000 after acquiring an additional 7,211 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.