RBF Capital LLC Lowers Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

RBF Capital LLC cut its stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. RBF Capital LLC's holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $1,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 214.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 16,956 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 719,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,740,000 after purchasing an additional 66,487 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth $250,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth about $2,367,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,060,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $87.46. 48,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 349,651. The business's fifty day moving average price is $85.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.18. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.57 and a twelve month high of $96.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. On average, research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

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.