Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $261.10 and last traded at $260.6650, with a volume of 161203 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $258.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $268.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Assurant from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $240.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given 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 “Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.83.

Assurant Stock Up 0.8%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $240.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.56.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $511,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,818.88. This represents a 42.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. This represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 31,650 shares of company stock valued at $7,930,981 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.