Key Points
- CEO insider sales: Assured Guaranty CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,998 shares on March 23 for $2,442,137.18 (and 20,002 shares on March 20 for $1,621,362.12), trimming his stake by 2.32% to 1,264,295 shares worth roughly $102.9M.
- Strong quarter and dividend hike: The company beat estimates with $2.32 EPS (vs. $1.54 expected) and $277M revenue (vs. $205.8M expected), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52, yield ~1.9%).
Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total value of $2,442,137.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,264,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,926,255.95. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.
Dominic Frederico also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Friday, March 20th, Dominic Frederico sold 20,002 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.06, for a total value of $1,621,362.12.
Assured Guaranty Price Performance
Shares of NYSE AGO opened at $81.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $74.09 and a fifty-two week high of $92.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $85.15 and a 200-day moving average of $85.72.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.78. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 45.31%.The business had revenue of $277.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $205.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 77.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.
Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 14.84%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 218.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 162,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,765,000 after purchasing an additional 111,498 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 43.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,828,000 after purchasing an additional 51,519 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,363,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 8.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,145,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,929,000 after purchasing an additional 92,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Assured Guaranty by 12.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,333,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $112,840,000 after purchasing an additional 144,841 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently commented on AGO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.50.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Assured Guaranty
Assured Guaranty Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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