45,306 Shares in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 45,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,629,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.10% of Assured Guaranty at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 633.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 309.2% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

NYSE:AGO opened at $75.55 on Friday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $72.76 and a 12-month high of $92.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 37.34%. On average, analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Capital lowered Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.33.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In related news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured bought 209,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.83 per share, for a total transaction of $5,199,104.04. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,212,106 shares in the company, valued at $30,096,591.98. This represents a 20.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Assured Guaranty

Assured Guaranty Ltd is a Bermuda-domiciled provider of financial guaranty insurance and reinsurance products serving public finance, infrastructure and structured finance markets. The company’s primary business activity is credit enhancement, whereby it guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on debt obligations issued by municipal and infrastructure entities. By combining rigorous risk assessment with active portfolio management, Assured Guaranty helps issuers access capital at more attractive rates while protecting investors against credit events.

In its public finance segment, the company underwrites municipal bond insurance for state and local governments, public-private partnerships and essential infrastructure projects.