Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 43,805 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 825,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,805 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.73% of Assured Guaranty worth $69,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the second quarter worth about $30,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 3,391.7% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Assured Guaranty stock opened at $85.82 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $88.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.94. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $74.09 and a twelve month high of $94.22.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $1.03. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 40.65%.The company had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In other news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 4,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $65,282.22. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,269,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,409,263.90. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,803 shares of company stock valued at $156,663. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assured Guaranty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.00.

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.