Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,776 Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AGO. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 13,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 106.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 82,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,399,000 after acquiring an additional 42,672 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 82.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 662,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,101,000 after acquiring an additional 299,658 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 293.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 126,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,773,000 after purchasing an additional 94,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 13,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of AGO stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.23. The company had a trading volume of 169,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,229. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.60. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $90.43 and its 200 day moving average is $84.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.12.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $269.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.57 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The business's revenue was down 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 9.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.