Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Given New $235.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its price objective boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $225.00 to $235.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on AIZ. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $238.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ stock opened at $209.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.15. Assurant has a one year low of $174.97 and a one year high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $1.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.96, for a total transaction of $194,712.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,549.60. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,770,000 after purchasing an additional 15,218 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,763,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,810,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.