Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its stake in Assured Guaranty by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,564 shares and leaving it with 805,949 shares worth about $72.4 million.
• Assured Guaranty reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.50 per share versus the $1.50 consensus, while revenue came in at $261 million. The company also reaffirmed a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equal to a 1.8% annualized yield.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious, with the stock holding a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.33. Meanwhile, insider activity was mixed, including a major shareholder purchase and CEO Dominic Frederico’s share sale earlier this year.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 805,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,564 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.75% of Assured Guaranty worth $72,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AGO. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth $47,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 1,080.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 476.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth $68,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $82.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.81. 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 52 week low of $78.77 and a 52 week high of $92.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $83.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.67.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 45.31%.The firm had revenue of $261.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.63 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.18 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AGO. Roth Mkm lowered Assured Guaranty to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.33.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In related news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured bought 242,718 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.72 per share, for a total transaction of $5,999,988.96. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 1,002,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,787,188.96. This trade represents a 31.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total value of $2,442,137.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,264,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,926,255.95. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 174,969 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,948 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty 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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