Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Price Target Raised to $194.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price objective increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $186.00 to $194.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Assurant in a research report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $208.60.

Assurant Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $187.27 on Wednesday. Assurant has a 12-month low of $136.15 and a 12-month high of $189.48. The company has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly 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. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 6.73%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Assurant 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 transaction of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael P. Campbell sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.35, for a total transaction of $226,048.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,983.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,730,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 210.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Assurant in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,213,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,988,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Assurant by 305.5% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after buying an additional 6,077 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.