Chou Associates Management Inc. Takes $1.36 Million Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Chou Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,000. Assured Guaranty makes up about 0.6% of Chou Associates Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter worth approximately $3,186,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter valued at $407,000. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assured Guaranty news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured bought 209,388 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.83 per share, with a total value of $5,199,104.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 1,212,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,096,591.98. This represents a 20.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total value of $77,813.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,696.24. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AGO opened at $74.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 0.75. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.76 and a twelve month high of $92.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.29.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 37.34% and a return on equity of 7.11%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AGO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Roth Capital cut Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. UBS Group raised Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assured Guaranty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.33.

Assured Guaranty Profile

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.