Assurant shares jump 7% on earnings boost

Assurant Inc. AIZ, +6.74% jumped 7% on Wednesday in the stock’s strongest performance since Aug. 5, 2020 when it rallied 14.2%. The New York-based insurance carrier on Tuesday lifted its outlook for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) and beat Wall Street’s earnings view. For 2022, Assurant said it expects Ebitda growth of 8% to 10%. Analysts at Truist Securities said Wednesday the forecast implies an Ebitda range of about $1.20 billion to $1.22 billion, ahead of its estimate of $1.18 billion. Fourth-quarter earnings totaled $2.47 a share, ahead of the Wall Street estimate of $2.30 a share in a survey of analysts by FactSet. Truist reiterated its buy rating on Assurant. Assurant stock is up 22.7% in the past 12 months, compared to a gain of 17.1% by the S&P 500 over the same period.