Assurant shares offer an attractive entry point – Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded Assurant (NYSE:) to Overweight from Neutral, maintaining a $144 price target on the stock in a note Tuesday.

Analysts told investors near-term catalysts are on the horizon for the company, which he believes is at an attractive valuation.

AIZ shares are up more than 4.5% at the time of writing, trading around the $131.43 mark.

One of the reasons the firm is more optimistic about the stock is because they believe its valuation offers an attractive entry point. In addition, the analysts stated that the “B2B nature of its business profile leaves it less exposed to the whims of the individual consumer.”

“Relative to our coverage universe, there is limited exposure to variable investment income as well as commercial real estate, which we believe will serve to leave the company relatively less exposed to headline risk than others,” wrote the analysts.

They added: “We also believe a number of catalysts are on the horizon, such as: 1) completing placement of the remainder of its reinsurance program along with an additional round of inflation-guard rate increases for Global Housing and 2) the resumption of share repurchase activity in 2Q23 that should build into 2H23.”