UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Stock Price

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $87.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.0 %

Assured Guaranty stock opened at $91.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.78. Assured Guaranty has a 1-year low of $65.39 and a 1-year high of $96.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $269.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.57 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,593.05. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,026,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 82.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 662,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,101,000 after purchasing an additional 299,658 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the first quarter worth about $25,554,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 37.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,322,000 after purchasing an additional 184,621 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,525,000 after buying an additional 146,107 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Assured Guaranty

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.