Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on AIZ. UBS Group raised their target price on 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 price target on Assurant from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $310.00 price objective on Assurant in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

Assurant Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $276.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $264.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.55. Assurant has a 1 year low of $183.39 and a 1 year high of $284.12.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 2,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $511,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,741 shares in the company, valued at $700,818.88. The trade was a 42.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.77, for a total transaction of $503,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,764 shares in the company, valued at $3,213,592.28. This trade represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock worth $9,211,620 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in Assurant in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Assurant during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 81.4% during the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 57 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.