Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Stock Price

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) had its target price raised by Truist Financial from $265.00 to $280.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AIZ. Zacks Research downgraded Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.17.

Assurant Trading Down 0.9%

AIZ opened at $214.05 on Thursday. Assurant has a fifty-two week low of $174.97 and a fifty-two week high of $246.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $235.62 and its 200 day moving average is $221.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 21.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,110,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Assurant by 0.3% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 15,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,448,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company Profile

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.