Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 108.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,856 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,026,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 50.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,525,000 after purchasing an additional 146,107 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 112.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 216,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,249,000 after purchasing an additional 115,012 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 13.2% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 981,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,020,000 after buying an additional 114,308 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 293.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 126,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,773,000 after buying an additional 94,486 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 0.4 %

AGO stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $93.71. The company had a trading volume of 197,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,705. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.17. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.11. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $72.57 and a fifty-two week high of $96.60.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Assured Guaranty 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.