Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $259.28 and last traded at $258.2750, with a volume of 31231 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $254.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Assurant from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised Assurant from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Assurant from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $226.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.56.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.79 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Subhashish Sengupta sold 1,880 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,895 shares in the company, valued at $609,484.35. This represents a 39.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total value of $6,357,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,717,959.12. The trade was a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 29,650 shares of company stock valued at $7,419,621 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA bought a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.