Key Points
- Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of Assured Guaranty on May 29 at an average price of $74.32, reducing his ownership by 10.11%. The transaction was worth about $77,813 and was disclosed in an SEC filing.
- Assured Guaranty beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.50 EPS versus the $1.50 consensus estimate and revenue of $261 million versus expected $208.63 million. However, revenue still fell 24.3% year over year from the same quarter last year.
- The company continues to return cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, or $1.52 annualized, for a yield of about 2.0%. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $92.33.
Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total transaction of $77,813.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,696.24. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Lorin Radtke also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Wednesday, March 4th, Lorin Radtke sold 1,219 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total transaction of $106,223.66.
Assured Guaranty Price Performance
Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $74.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company's 50-day moving average price is $80.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.90. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $73.46 and a 52 week high of $92.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.76.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $261.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.63 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 40.45%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is presently 17.45%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm downgraded Assured Guaranty from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Assured Guaranty from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.33.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Assured Guaranty
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,198,000 after buying an additional 22,486 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,024,000 after buying an additional 16,235 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 99.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $553,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.
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.
Further Reading
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