Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 834,000 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the December 31st total of 698,300 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 348,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.50.

Assurant Trading Down 1.5 %

AIZ stock traded down $3.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $215.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,279,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,142. The stock has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $214.72 and a 200-day moving average of $200.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Assurant will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.82%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Assurant by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Assurant by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 1.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Assurant

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.