Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $214.99 and last traded at $214.62, with a volume of 395053 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial upped 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

Assurant Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $196.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. This trade represents a 14.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assurant

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,392,000 after acquiring an additional 65,874 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,179,000 after acquiring an additional 255,471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Assurant by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 698,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,159,000 after acquiring an additional 12,935 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Assurant by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,118,000 after acquiring an additional 96,021 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 11,480.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 460,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.