Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $284.64 and last traded at $283.1790, with a volume of 125050 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $283.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 target price on Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Assurant Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.76.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 7.60%.The business had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 21.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 18.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,818.88. This represents a 42.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Keith Meier sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.31, for a total transaction of $6,357,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,717,959.12. The trade was a 57.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 36,000 shares of company stock worth $9,211,620 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Assurant by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.