BlackRock Inc. Purchases Shares of 5,787,502 Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 5.79 million shares of Assured Guaranty during the second quarter, worth approximately $463.9 million, giving it a 13.09% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.22% of the company.
• Assured Guaranty reported quarterly earnings of $1.23 per share on $195 million in revenue and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the stock holding a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $90.33 versus its recent opening price of $74.26.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,787,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $463,926,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 13.09% of Assured Guaranty as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,885,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $169,483,000 after acquiring an additional 42,311 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,464,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $131,589,000 after purchasing an additional 131,195 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,262,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,480,000 after buying an additional 132,351 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,538,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 540,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,779,000 after buying an additional 108,280 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGO opened at $74.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1-year low of $72.76 and a 1-year high of $92.39. The business's 50 day moving average is $80.45 and its 200-day moving average is $81.18.

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

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total transaction of $77,813.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,696.24. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured bought 209,388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.83 per share, for a total transaction of $5,199,104.04. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,212,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,096,591.98. This trade represents a 20.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate 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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