Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Short Interest Up 30.9% in November

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 912,500 shares, an increase of 30.9% from the October 31st total of 697,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 363,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Assurant by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Assurant by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,132,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 48.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,243,000 after purchasing an additional 62,696 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Trading Up 0.0 %

Assurant stock opened at $227.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.57. Assurant has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $203.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.29 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Assurant will post 15.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

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.