Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Decreases Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,712 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 66.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 183.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of AGO stock traded up $0.22 on Monday, hitting $90.27. 283,628 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 373,211. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.11. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $71.41 and a one year high of $96.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50 day moving average is $87.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.81.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The business had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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.