Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO Holdings Decreased by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. by 4.8%, selling 4,700 shares, leaving it with 93,700 shares worth approximately $8.26 million.
• CEO Dominic Frederico sold 71,917 shares for about $6.19 million, while COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares valued at approximately $3.26 million.
• Assured Guaranty reported earnings per share of $1.01, missing estimates by $0.56, but its revenue grew by 39.1% year-over-year, totaling $281 million.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.19% of Assured Guaranty worth $8,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 717 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.1%

Assured Guaranty stock traded up $0.1050 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.1150. 355,348 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,319. The company's fifty day moving average price is $84.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.68. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $74.09 and a fifty-two week high of $96.50.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.56). Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 44.53%.The business had revenue of $281.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Assured Guaranty's revenue for the quarter was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In other Assured Guaranty news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.51, for a total transaction of $3,260,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 291,728 shares in the company, valued at $23,778,749.28. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Assured Guaranty to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.50.

Assured Guaranty Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The company offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.