Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO Stock Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management reduced its Assured Guaranty stake by 30.6% in the third quarter, selling 26,578 shares and retaining 60,173 shares worth approximately $4.1 million.
• Assured Guaranty shares opened at $69.36, near the lower end of their 52-week range, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.23, $195 million in revenue, and a 37.34% net margin.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, representing a 2.2% yield, and analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $91.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. cut its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 30.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,578 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.14% of Assured Guaranty worth $4,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AGO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter worth approximately $463,926,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 32.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 499,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,687,000 after buying an additional 123,672 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the second quarter worth $30,108,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the second quarter worth $23,025,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,439,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AGO opened at $69.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.09. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $67.24 and a 52 week high of $92.39.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 37.34% and a return on equity of 7.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AGO. Roth Capital upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group set a $91.00 price target on Assured Guaranty in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Assured Guaranty from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.00.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd. NYSE: AGO is a Bermuda-based financial services company that provides credit protection products through its operating insurance subsidiaries. The company's core business is financial guaranty insurance, which generally guarantees the payment of scheduled principal and interest on debt obligations if the issuer or borrower defaults.

Assured Guaranty primarily serves the public finance and infrastructure markets. Its guarantees support municipal bonds and other public-sector debt, as well as obligations related to transportation, utilities, social infrastructure and other essential-service projects.

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