Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Major Shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured Sells 1,650 Shares of Stock

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.48, for a total value of $23,892.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,274,557 shares in the company, valued at $76,375,585.36. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Guaranty Ltd Assured also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 13th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 165 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.50, for a total transaction of $2,392.50.
• On Monday, January 12th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 3,782 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.72, for a total transaction of $55,671.04.
• On Monday, November 17th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 102 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total transaction of $1,672.80.
• On Tuesday, October 28th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 266 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.69, for a total transaction of $4,439.54.
• On Monday, October 27th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 590 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total transaction of $9,853.00.
• On Friday, October 24th, Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 1,882 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.64, for a total value of $31,316.48.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO opened at $85.42 on Thursday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $74.09 and a 12-month high of $96.50. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $207.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $196.76 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 40.65%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 16.87%.

Institutional Trading of Assured Guaranty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 3,391.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the third quarter valued at $47,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Assured Guaranty from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.