Short Interest in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Declines By 16.9%

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 769,406 shares, a decrease of 16.9% from the January 29th total of 925,510 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 594,666 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 594,666 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.17.

Assurant Stock Down 0.4%

AIZ stock traded down $0.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $232.01. 402,600 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 421,933. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant has a 1 year low of $174.97 and a 1 year high of $246.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.10.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.79 earnings per share. Assurant’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assurant’s payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Assurant by 606.7% in the 1st 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 19.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 290,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,987,000 after purchasing an additional 47,548 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in Assurant by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently 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.