Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage presently has a $285.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.58% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Assurant from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.17.

Assurant Trading Down 0.4%

Assurant stock opened at $242.38 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $224.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.73. Assurant has a 1 year low of $183.39 and a 1 year high of $247.41. The stock has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The business had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Assurant will post 20.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Assurant by 606.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Assurant by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,987,000 after purchasing an additional 47,548 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Assurant during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assurant by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Company Profile

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.