Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 47,549 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors trimmed its stake in Assured Guaranty by 47,549 shares (1.4%) in Q3, leaving it with 3,374,900 shares (7.09% ownership), and institutional investors now hold about 92.22% of AGO.
• Assured Guaranty beat expectations, reporting $2.32 EPS vs. $1.54 expected and revenue of $277M (up 77.6% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52, ~1.8% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $101 target.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,374,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 47,549 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 7.09% of Assured Guaranty worth $285,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 218.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 162,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,765,000 after buying an additional 111,498 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 43.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,828,000 after acquiring an additional 51,519 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,363,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 204.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 22,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,145,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,929,000 after acquiring an additional 92,148 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 4,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $65,282.22. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,269,690 shares in the company, valued at $75,409,263.90. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total transaction of $106,223.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $723,000.58. The trade was a 12.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,920 shares of company stock worth $261,214. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of AGO opened at $85.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.90. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $74.09 and a 12 month high of $92.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.58.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.78. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 45.31%.The firm had revenue of $277.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 77.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is presently 13.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.00.

Assured Guaranty Company 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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