Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Assured Guaranty shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to $69.96 before last trading near $71.19. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $89.33; individual targets range as high as $97.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.23 and revenue of $195 million, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.38, equivalent to a 2.1% yield and a 20.27% payout ratio.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $69.96 and last traded at $71.1870, with a volume of 1697563 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. UBS Group set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Assured Guaranty from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.33.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.06 and its 200-day moving average is $79.45.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 37.34%.The firm had revenue of $195.00 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In related news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured bought 209,388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.83 per share, with a total value of $5,199,104.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,212,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,096,591.98. The trade was a 20.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Assured Guaranty

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AGO. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 309.2% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the second quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the second quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd. NYSE: AGO is a Bermuda-based financial services company that provides financial guarantees and related credit enhancement products. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps support the repayment of debt issued by public-sector entities, infrastructure projects and other borrowers.

The company's principal business is financial guaranty insurance, which generally protects investors against scheduled principal and interest payment defaults on insured obligations.

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