IMC Chicago LLC Makes New $1.45 Million Investment in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• IMC Chicago LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) of 16,093 shares valued at about $1.45 million during Q4; institutional investors now own 92.22% of the company.
• Assured Guaranty posted a strong quarter, reporting EPS $2.32 vs. $1.54 expected and revenue of $277 million (up 77.6% YoY versus $205.8M expected), and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $98.50.
• The company declared a $0.38 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.52, ~1.9% yield), while insiders have sold roughly 174,969 shares (~$14.1 million) over the past 90 days, leaving insiders with about 5.7% ownership.

IMC Chicago LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,446,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AGO. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 61.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,198,000 after buying an additional 22,486 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,024,000 after buying an additional 16,235 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 8.9% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 99.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the second quarter worth $553,000. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $80.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $78.77 and a twelve month high of $92.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.81. The company's fifty day moving average is $83.43 and its 200 day moving average is $85.63.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $277.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $205.83 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 45.31% and a return on equity of 7.77%. Assured Guaranty's revenue for the quarter was up 77.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is 14.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AGO. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.50.

Insider Activity

In other Assured Guaranty news, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,219 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 8,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $723,000.58. This represents a 12.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Francisco L. Borges sold 123,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total transaction of $9,927,225.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 176,952 shares in the company, valued at $14,195,089.44. This trade represents a 41.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,969 shares of company stock worth $14,096,948. 5.70% of the stock is owned by 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.

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