Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO Stake Raised by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Quantinno Capital Management increased its Assured Guaranty stake by 32.9% in the first quarter, adding 123,672 shares to own 499,347 shares worth about $40.7 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 92.22% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: three analysts rate AGO a Buy and two rate it Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $91.67 price target.
• Assured Guaranty reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, beating estimates of $1.50, while revenue of $261 million exceeded expectations but fell 24.3% year over year. The stock opened at $84.26, and two insiders recently sold shares.

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 32.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 499,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 123,672 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 1.13% of Assured Guaranty worth $40,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 633.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 99.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGO has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Assured Guaranty from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Assured Guaranty from $103.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Roth Capital cut Assured Guaranty from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.67.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AGO opened at $84.26 on Friday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.76 and a twelve month high of $92.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.06.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $261.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.63 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 40.45%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total value of $77,813.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,307 shares in the company, valued at $691,696.24. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total transaction of $3,931,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 256,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,146,453.62. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd is a Bermuda-domiciled provider of financial guaranty insurance and reinsurance products serving public finance, infrastructure and structured finance markets. The company's primary business activity is credit enhancement, whereby it guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on debt obligations issued by municipal and infrastructure entities. By combining rigorous risk assessment with active portfolio management, Assured Guaranty helps issuers access capital at more attractive rates while protecting investors against credit events.

In its public finance segment, the company underwrites municipal bond insurance for state and local governments, public-private partnerships and essential infrastructure projects.

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