Short Interest in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Drops By 6.7%

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 709,200 shares, a decline of 6.7% from the September 15th total of 759,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 340,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AIZ. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Assurant

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Assurant during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Assurant by 62.1% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Assurant during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Assurant by 40.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Assurant by 35.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Assurant Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Assurant stock traded up $1.35 on Thursday, hitting $198.21. The stock had a trading volume of 359,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,428. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $192.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.13. Assurant has a one year low of $144.61 and a one year high of $201.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

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.