Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) Upgraded at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) was upgraded by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Thursday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $230.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $212.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 14.87% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AIZ. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $200.23 on Thursday. Assurant has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released 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 net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. Research analysts forecast that Assurant will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased 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 acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 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.