Bank of Nova Scotia Takes Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 34,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,109,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.07% of Assured Guaranty as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 1,794.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $83.37. 255,932 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 354,532. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $72.57 and a 12-month high of $96.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $86.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.95. The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. Analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.94%.

About Assured Guaranty

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.