William Blair Issues Positive Forecast for Assurant Earnings

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) – Equities researchers at William Blair raised their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Assurant in a report issued on Thursday, November 7th. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $15.60 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $14.40. The consensus estimate for Assurant’s current full-year earnings is $14.13 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Assurant’s Q4 2024 earnings at $3.73 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $4.34 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.03 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $5.34 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.26 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $3.08 EPS.

AIZ has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $209.39 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.39. The company has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Assurant has a fifty-two week low of $158.68 and a fifty-two week high of $209.73.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,962.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the second quarter worth $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 62.1% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 509.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the second quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth $56,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.