Short Interest in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Expands By 19.4%

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 902,300 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the August 15th total of 755,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 398,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 4.1 %

Assured Guaranty stock traded up $3.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $80.18. The company had a trading volume of 414,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,344. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Assured Guaranty has a 12-month low of $58.27 and a 12-month high of $96.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.30.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 61.17%. The firm had revenue of $202.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 43.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Assured Guaranty from $102.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Assured Guaranty from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In related news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $2,480,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,380,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 14.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 5.7% during the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 2.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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