Optimize Financial Inc Takes Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGO. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 214.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 16,956 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 719,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,740,000 after acquiring an additional 66,487 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth $250,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth $2,367,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth about $28,060,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company's stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.81. The company had a trading volume of 12,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,730. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.50. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.84. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $86.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.