Ethic Inc. Buys 3,660 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. by 102.7% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 3,660 shares to reach a total of 7,224 shares, valued at approximately $636,000.
• Assured Guaranty reported earnings per share of $1.01 for the most recent quarter, missing consensus estimates by $0.56, despite revenues increasing by 39.1% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 15.03%.

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 102.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $636,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 136,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,054,000 after purchasing an additional 17,373 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 47.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 176,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,537,000 after purchasing an additional 57,116 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth about $293,632,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth about $104,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 1,997 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.51, for a total transaction of $3,260,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 291,728 shares in the company, valued at $23,778,749.28. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.50.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.4%

AGO traded up $0.36 on Tuesday, reaching $81.44. 297,099 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 355,753. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $83.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.38. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52-week low of $74.09 and a 52-week high of $96.50. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $281.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.91 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 44.53%.The business's revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

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.