SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 63,111 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 87.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 63,111 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $11,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 633.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 99.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Roth Mkm downgraded Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total transaction of $3,931,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 256,251 shares in the company, valued at $20,146,453.62. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Francisco L. Borges sold 123,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total transaction of $9,927,225.00. Following the sale, the director owned 176,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,195,089.44. The trade was a 41.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 174,797 shares of company stock valued at $13,936,038 in the last quarter. 5.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 2.9%

Assured Guaranty stock opened at $79.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.23. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.76 and a 12 month high of $92.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.76.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $261.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.63 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 40.45%.The company’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.45%.

Assured Guaranty Profile

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.