Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 55.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,361 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.09% of Assured Guaranty worth $3,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 633.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 99.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 8.7%

Shares of AGO stock opened at $75.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.75. 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 50 day moving average is $80.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.90. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.76 and a twelve month high of $92.39.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 37.34%.The firm had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total value of $77,813.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,307 shares in the company, valued at $691,696.24. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total value of $3,931,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 256,251 shares in the company, valued at $20,146,453.62. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AGO. UBS Group upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Roth Capital cut shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $103.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.67.

Assured Guaranty News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Assured Guaranty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Assured Guaranty declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, payable September 3 to shareholders of record August 20. The dividend represents an annualized yield of approximately 1.8%, providing ongoing shareholder income. Assured Guaranty dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The company posted updated investor materials and disclosures on August 7. No specific financial change or new guidance was identified in the announcement, so the immediate stock impact appears limited. Updated investor materials and disclosures
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings were $1.23 per share, below consensus estimates ranging from $1.51 to $1.66. Although EPS increased from $1.01 a year earlier, the earnings miss is likely weighing on investor sentiment. Assured Guaranty Q2 earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue was $195 million, below the approximately $205 million consensus estimate and down 30.6% year over year. The revenue shortfall, combined with the EPS miss, is the primary catalyst behind the stock’s decline. Assured Guaranty Q2 earnings snapshot Assured Guaranty revenue estimate miss

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.