SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 63,111 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 87.5% in the first quarter, buying 63,111 additional shares and bringing its total to 135,233 shares worth about $11.0 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: several firms adjusted ratings and price targets, and the stock currently carries a Hold consensus with an average target price of $92.33.
• Assured Guaranty reported Q1 earnings of $2.50 per share, topping estimates, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, which implies an annualized yield of about 1.9%.

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 87.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 63,111 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Assured Guaranty worth $11,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 49,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,743,000 after purchasing an additional 30,208 shares in the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,446,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 8.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 120,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,226,000 after acquiring an additional 40,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Roth Mkm 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. Wall Street Zen raised Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Assured Guaranty currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assured Guaranty news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 256,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,146,453.62. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total value of $77,813.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,307 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $691,696.24. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 174,797 shares of company stock worth $13,936,038. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of AGO opened at $79.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.76. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.76 and a twelve month high of $92.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.23.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $261.00 million for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 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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