Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $67.92 and last traded at $67.9680, with a volume of 78716 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGO shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Roth Capital raised Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group set a $91.00 target price on Assured Guaranty in a report on Monday, September 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Assured Guaranty from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.00.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the second quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter worth $76,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides financial guarantees and related insurance services through its subsidiaries. The company helps protect investors and lenders from losses arising from defaults on debt obligations, with a primary focus on public finance and structured finance markets.

Its public finance business provides guarantees for municipal bonds and other obligations issued to fund essential infrastructure and public services, including transportation, utilities, healthcare and education.