Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $85.80 and last traded at $87.69, with a volume of 346272 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $88.78.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $85.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.30.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. On average, research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 96.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,861 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,714,000 after purchasing an additional 31,791 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 44.5% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 47,540 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,188,000 after acquiring an additional 14,642 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 717 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

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.