Guaranty Ltd Assured Sells 1,227 Shares of Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Stock

Key Points

• Guaranty Ltd Assured, a major shareholder in Assured Guaranty Ltd., sold 1,227 shares of stock at an average price of $17.38 per share, resulting in a total transaction value of $21,325.26.
• Assured Guaranty reported quarterly earnings of $1.01 EPS, missing the consensus estimate, while revenue increased 39.1% year-over-year to $281 million.
• The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion and a current dividend yield of 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 15.03% following its most recent dividend payment.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 1,227 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.38, for a total transaction of $21,325.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,289,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,927,199.76. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Guaranty Ltd Assured also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, October 13th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 3,195 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $55,944.45.
• On Thursday, October 9th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 3,409 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.78, for a total transaction of $60,612.02.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 186,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,555. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $74.09 and a fifty-two week high of $96.50. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business's 50 day moving average price is $82.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.01.

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

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 1st quarter worth about $293,632,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 58.3% in the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,791,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $151,549,000 after acquiring an additional 660,009 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,606,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 176.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 366,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,935,000 after acquiring an additional 233,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 60.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 481,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,957,000 after acquiring an additional 182,004 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.50.

Assured Guaranty Company 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.

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