Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AIZ. Truist Financial increased their target price on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.50.

Assurant Trading Down 2.5 %

Assurant stock opened at $207.46 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Assurant will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Assurant by 219.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 509.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Company Profile

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.