Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $279.50 and last traded at $279.5160, with a volume of 276415 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $279.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price target on Assurant in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Assurant in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.71.

Assurant Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $252.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.23. 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 market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 0.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $0.66. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Lonergan sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.71, for a total value of $1,838,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,374 shares in the company, valued at $7,191,423.54. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,213,592.28. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock worth $9,211,620 in the last 90 days. Company 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 company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BOKF NA bought a new stake in Assurant in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 57.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.