United Services Automobile Association Makes New $285,000 Investment in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has invested approximately $285,000 in Assured Guaranty Ltd. by acquiring 3,266 shares during the first quarter.
• Assured Guaranty reported earnings of $1.01 per share, missing analysts' expectations, but had a revenue increase of 39.1% year-over-year, totaling $281 million for the quarter.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing a 1.6% dividend yield.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AGO. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the first quarter worth $293,632,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 8,932.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 240,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $211,580,000 after purchasing an additional 237,502 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,134,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,977,000 after purchasing an additional 129,026 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,012,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,206,000 after purchasing an additional 109,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at $5,920,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $82.68. The stock had a trading volume of 42,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,128. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $82.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.41. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $74.09 and a 12 month high of $96.50. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is 15.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Assured Guaranty to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.51, for a total value of $3,260,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 291,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,778,749.28. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.