Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings cut its Assured Guaranty stake by 49.1% in the second quarter, selling 43,633 shares and retaining 45,306 shares worth approximately $3.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.22% of AGO.
• Assured Guaranty reported quarterly earnings of $1.23 per share on $195 million in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% yield.
• AGO shares opened at $73.11, near their 12-month low, and analysts hold a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $90.33.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 49.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 43,633 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.10% of Assured Guaranty worth $3,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter valued at about $463,926,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $51,538,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the second quarter worth about $30,108,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the second quarter valued at about $23,025,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 176.3% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 366,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,935,000 after acquiring an additional 233,966 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO opened at $73.11 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $72.13 and a 12 month high of $92.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured acquired 209,388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.83 per share, with a total value of $5,199,104.04. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,212,106 shares in the company, valued at $30,096,591.98. This represents a 20.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Assured Guaranty

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.