Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in Assured Guaranty, buying 19,200 shares worth about $1.56 million in the first quarter.
• Assured Guaranty reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.50 per share versus the $1.50 estimate, though revenue fell 24.3% year over year to $261 million.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 1.9%, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating and a $92.33 price target.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,564,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AGO. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 633.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 99.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE AGO opened at $81.36 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.03. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $72.76 and a one year high of $92.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.75.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $261.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.63 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 40.45% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business's revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is presently 17.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In other news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total transaction of $3,931,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 256,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,146,453.62. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total value of $77,813.04. Following the sale, the director owned 9,307 shares in the company, valued at $691,696.24. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut 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 note on Friday, May 8th. Two 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 has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.33.

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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