Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $247.42 and last traded at $241.7660, with a volume of 10984 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $239.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Assurant from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Assurant from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Assurant from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.00.

Assurant Stock Down 0.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $224.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.79 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 20.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $395,796.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,484.35. The trade was a 39.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.98, for a total value of $158,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,256.18. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,650 shares of company stock valued at $558,331 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Assurant by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,110,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Assurant by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 15,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,448,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Assurant by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.