Ethic Inc. Acquires 3,660 Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 102.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,305,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,036,000 after purchasing an additional 5,826 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 70,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,222,000 after purchasing an additional 20,779 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at about $624,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:AGO opened at $81.0870 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.88. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $74.09 and a twelve month high of $96.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.56). The company had revenue of $281.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.91 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 44.53%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is presently 15.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AGO shares. Zacks Research upgraded Assured Guaranty to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Assured Guaranty from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Assured Guaranty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In related news, COO Robert Bailenson sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.51, for a total transaction of $3,260,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 291,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,778,749.28. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Company 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.