Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $89.56, but opened at $95.00. Assured Guaranty shares last traded at $92.98, with a volume of 32,508 shares.

The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 61.17%. The firm had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Assured Guaranty's revenue for the quarter was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is presently 10.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AGO. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,380,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,380,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGO. Creative Planning grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.10. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.41.

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.