Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $266.90 and last traded at $265.83, with a volume of 394494 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $261.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of 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 research report on Thursday, May 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $283.57.

Assurant Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $245.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.73. The company has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s payout ratio is 18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,213,592.28. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 directly owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,717,959.12. This trade represents a 57.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,211,620 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 205.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 113 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.