Key Points
- Assured Guaranty COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares on May 11 at an average price of $78.62, totaling about $3.93 million. After the sale, he still owned 256,251 shares, a 16.33% decrease in his stake.
- The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.50 EPS versus the $1.50 consensus estimate and revenue of $261 million, also ahead of expectations. However, revenue was still down 24.3% year over year.
- Assured Guaranty recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, payable May 29, implying an annualized dividend of $1.52 and a 2.0% yield. The stock was down 2.4% and had been trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total value of $3,931,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 256,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,146,453.62. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
Assured Guaranty Stock Down 2.4%
AGO stock opened at $77.01 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $82.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.57. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $74.18 and a fifty-two week high of $92.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 0.81.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $261.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.63 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 40.45%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.45%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGO. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 633.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 1,080.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently issued reports on AGO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.33.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Assured Guaranty
About Assured Guaranty
(
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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