Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Separately, UBS Group boosted their target price on Assured Guaranty from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

AGO stock opened at $88.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.57. Assured Guaranty has a 12 month low of $65.39 and a 12 month high of $96.60. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $269.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. Assured Guaranty’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty will post 6.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.63%.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,380,119 shares in the company, valued at $110,423,321.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 183.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

About Assured Guaranty

Assured Guaranty Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The company offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.