Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $6.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $1.40, FiscalAI reports. Assurant had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.48 billion.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ stock traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $295.55. The stock had a trading volume of 359,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,379. Assurant has a 12 month low of $209.86 and a 12 month high of $303.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.52.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Assurant from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $324.29.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,188,970.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,333,747.62. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc (NYSE:AIZ) is a global business services company that provides insurance products and related services. Its offerings are designed to help consumers protect mobile devices, household belongings, vehicles, homes and other significant purchases, while supporting businesses in managing risk and customer relationships.

Assurant operates through three primary business segments: Global Lifestyle, Global Housing and Global Preneed. Global Lifestyle provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics, appliances and vehicles.