Reinhart Partners LLC. Has $113.48 Million Stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Reinhart Partners LLC boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,262,698 shares valued at about $113.48 million. The stock is now its 8th-largest holding and represents 3.4% of its portfolio.
• Assured Guaranty recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $2.50 EPS versus the $1.50 consensus estimate and revenue of $261 million. Analysts currently expect the company to earn 7.08 EPS for the full fiscal year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.38, equal to an annualized yield of 2.1%. Meanwhile, several analysts have mixed views on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a price target of $92.33.

Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,262,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 132,351 shares during the quarter. Assured Guaranty accounts for about 3.4% of Reinhart Partners LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Reinhart Partners LLC. owned 2.74% of Assured Guaranty worth $113,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. IMC Chicago LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,446,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 49,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,743,000 after acquiring an additional 30,208 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 193,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,392,000 after acquiring an additional 13,575 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,145,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,929,000 after acquiring an additional 92,148 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,333,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $112,840,000 after acquiring an additional 144,841 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Assured Guaranty stock opened at $74.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 0.76. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $73.27 and a one year high of $92.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.90.

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

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is presently 17.45%.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,998 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total value of $2,442,137.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total value of $3,931,000.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 224,797 shares of company stock worth $17,999,537. 5.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AGO. Weiss Ratings downgraded Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Roth Mkm downgraded Assured Guaranty from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.33.

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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