Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Shares Break Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Assured Guaranty shares broke above their 50-day moving average, reaching $72.13 and recently trading at $71.92, compared with a 50-day average of $71.21.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: the stock has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $91.00, with Roth Capital upgrading it to “buy” and raising its target to $85.
• Assured Guaranty pays a quarterly dividend of $0.38, equivalent to $1.52 annually and a 2.1% yield. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company’s shares.

Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.21 and traded as high as $72.13. Assured Guaranty shares last traded at $71.92, with a volume of 358,937 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AGO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group set a $91.00 price target on shares of Assured Guaranty in a report on Monday, September 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of 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 shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.00.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.97.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $195.00 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the second quarter valued at approximately $463,926,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 499,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,687,000 after buying an additional 123,672 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,108,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,025,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,439,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd. NYSE: AGO is a Bermuda-based financial services company that provides credit protection products through its operating insurance subsidiaries. The company's core business is financial guaranty insurance, which generally guarantees the payment of scheduled principal and interest on debt obligations if the issuer or borrower defaults.

Assured Guaranty primarily serves the public finance and infrastructure markets. Its guarantees support municipal bonds and other public-sector debt, as well as obligations related to transportation, utilities, social infrastructure and other essential-service projects.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.