Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) CEO Dominic Frederico Sells 25,000 Shares

Key Points

• Dominic Frederico, CEO of Assured Guaranty, sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of $83.83, totaling approximately $2.1 million, resulting in a 1.90% decrease in his ownership.
• Assured Guaranty reported $1.01 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $1.57, despite a 39.1% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34, yielding 1.6% annually, with a payout ratio of 15.03%.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) CEO Dominic Frederico sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $2,095,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,287,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,956,525.49. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $84.84. 305,851 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,018. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $74.09 and a 52-week high of $96.50. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $82.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.31.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.56). The firm had revenue of $281.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.91 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 44.53% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is 15.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter worth $30,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 27.6% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 99.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 17.8% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 927 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth $97,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised Assured Guaranty to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assured Guaranty has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.50.

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.

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