Research Analysts Offer Predictions for Assured Guaranty Ltd.'s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:AGO)

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Roth Capital reduced their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 8th. Roth Capital analyst H. Fong now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.47 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.51. The consensus estimate for Assured Guaranty's current full-year earnings is $6.00 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Assured Guaranty's Q3 2024 earnings at $1.52 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.50 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.77 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.91 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AGO. UBS Group lifted their target price on Assured Guaranty from $64.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock traded down $0.81 on Friday, hitting $79.21. The company had a trading volume of 382,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,806. Assured Guaranty has a twelve month low of $51.05 and a twelve month high of $96.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.99 and a 200-day moving average of $77.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 1.14.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.55. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $194.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. This is an increase from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assured Guaranty news, CAO Laura Bieling sold 3,901 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total transaction of $311,806.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 16,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,281,757.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.43, for a total value of $5,083,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,450,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,099,662.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Laura Bieling sold 3,901 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.93, for a total transaction of $311,806.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 16,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,281,757.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 88,901 shares of company stock valued at $7,793,657 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 1st quarter valued at about $182,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Assured Guaranty

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.