Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.34

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.34 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Assured Guaranty has raised its dividend by an average of 12.1% per year over the last three years. Assured Guaranty has a dividend payout ratio of 18.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Assured Guaranty to earn $6.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.9%.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of AGO traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.83. 275,946 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 217,044. Assured Guaranty has a 1-year low of $72.57 and a 1-year high of $96.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business's 50 day moving average price is $90.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AGO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The company offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.