Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

by · The Cerbat Gem

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Assurant from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $274.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.29.

Read Our Latest Report on Assurant

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $284.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.52. Assurant has a 52-week low of $206.03 and a 52-week high of $303.94.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.24. Assurant had a return on equity of 20.40% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Assurant will post 22.40 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,188,970.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,333,747.62. This represents a 13.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AIZ. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the second quarter worth $31,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Assurant by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

About Assurant

(Get Free Report)

Assurant, Inc (NYSE:AIZ) is a global business services company that provides insurance products and related services. Its offerings are designed to help consumers protect mobile devices, household belongings, vehicles, homes and other significant purchases, while supporting businesses in managing risk and customer relationships.

Assurant operates through three primary business segments: Global Lifestyle, Global Housing and Global Preneed. Global Lifestyle provides mobile device protection, extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics, appliances and vehicles.

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