Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,212,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,598 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 7.74% of Assured Guaranty worth $324,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 24.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 55.7% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.2 %
NYSE AGO traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.88. 367,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 390,931. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1-year low of $58.27 and a 1-year high of $96.60. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $78.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.04.
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $202.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.05 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 61.17%. The business's revenue was down 43.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.58%.
Insider Activity
In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 owns 1,380,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at $110,423,321.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Assured Guaranty from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $102.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Assured Guaranty
Assured Guaranty Profile
(
Free Report)
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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