Algert Global LLC Takes Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 44,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,333,000 after purchasing an additional 4,778 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 16,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 9,831 shares in the last quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter worth $3,001,000. Symmetry Partners LLC bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the first quarter valued at $908,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

AGO stock opened at $80.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.11. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $58.27 and a 12-month high of $96.60.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 61.17%. The business had revenue of $202.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Assured Guaranty’s revenue for the quarter was down 43.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $2,480,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,423,321.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were 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 owns 19,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $2,480,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,380,119 shares in the company, valued at $110,423,321.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Assured Guaranty from $102.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Assured Guaranty from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th.

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.