Reinhart Partners LLC. Sells 40,992 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• Reinhart Partners reduced its Assured Guaranty stake by 3.2%, selling 40,992 shares in the second quarter. The fund still owns 1.25 million shares, valued at approximately $99.9 million.
• Assured Guaranty’s second-quarter results missed estimates, with EPS of $1.23 versus forecasts of $1.51–$1.66 and revenue of $195 million, down 30.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $91.67.

Reinhart Partners LLC. reduced its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,246,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,992 shares during the period. Assured Guaranty makes up 2.3% of Reinhart Partners LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Reinhart Partners LLC. owned about 2.82% of Assured Guaranty worth $99,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 633.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Assured Guaranty by 309.2% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Assured Guaranty

Here are the key news stories impacting Assured Guaranty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Assured Guaranty declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, payable September 3 to shareholders of record August 20. The dividend represents an annualized yield of approximately 1.8%, providing ongoing shareholder income. Assured Guaranty dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The company posted updated investor materials and disclosures on August 7. No specific financial change or new guidance was identified in the announcement, so the immediate stock impact appears limited. Updated investor materials and disclosures
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings were $1.23 per share, below consensus estimates ranging from $1.51 to $1.66. Although EPS increased from $1.01 a year earlier, the earnings miss is likely weighing on investor sentiment. Assured Guaranty Q2 earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue was $195 million, below the approximately $205 million consensus estimate and down 30.6% year over year. The revenue shortfall, combined with the EPS miss, is the primary catalyst behind the stock’s decline. Assured Guaranty Q2 earnings snapshot Assured Guaranty revenue estimate miss

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In other news, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total transaction of $77,813.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,307 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $691,696.24. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured purchased 209,388 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.83 per share, for a total transaction of $5,199,104.04. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 1,212,106 shares in the company, valued at $30,096,591.98. This trade represents a 20.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AGO. UBS Group upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $103.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.67.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE:AGO opened at $75.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $72.76 and a fifty-two week high of $92.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.90.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 7.07%. The company had revenue of $195.00 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is presently 17.45%.

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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