Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $1.60 Million in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,595,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGO. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth $38,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 183.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In other Assured Guaranty news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $85.90. The stock had a trading volume of 262,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,442. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.40 and a 200-day moving average of $82.04. The firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $72.49 and a fifty-two week high of $96.60.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $269.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.57 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The company's revenue was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty's payout ratio is currently 9.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

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.