Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC raised its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO – Free Report) by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,200 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC owned 0.26% of Assured Guaranty worth $10,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 3,391.7% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth $47,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 37.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 1,080.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty
In related news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 4,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $65,282.22. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,269,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,409,263.90. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,219 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total value of $106,223.66. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $723,000.58. This represents a 12.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,920 shares of company stock worth $261,214. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.
Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.3%
Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $83.43 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $74.09 and a 12-month high of $92.39. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.90.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.78. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 45.31% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The company had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. Assured Guaranty’s revenue for the quarter was up 77.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 14.84%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AGO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.00.
About Assured Guaranty
Assured Guaranty Ltd is a Bermuda-domiciled provider of financial guaranty insurance and reinsurance products serving public finance, infrastructure and structured finance markets. The company’s primary business activity is credit enhancement, whereby it guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on debt obligations issued by municipal and infrastructure entities. By combining rigorous risk assessment with active portfolio management, Assured Guaranty helps issuers access capital at more attractive rates while protecting investors against credit events.
In its public finance segment, the company underwrites municipal bond insurance for state and local governments, public-private partnerships and essential infrastructure projects.
Read More
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO – Free Report).
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.
Before you consider Assured Guaranty, you’ll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Assured Guaranty wasn’t on the list.
While Assured Guaranty currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
