Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Short Interest Update

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

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE:AIZ traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $211.39. The stock had a trading volume of 345,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,810. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.04. Assurant has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The stock has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Assurant will post 15.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Huntington National Bank grew 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIZ. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.50.

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.