Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO – Free Report) by 96.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,032 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $96,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGO. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 176.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 366,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,935,000 after purchasing an additional 233,966 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 60.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 481,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,957,000 after purchasing an additional 182,004 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 12.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,333,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,840,000 after purchasing an additional 144,841 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 285.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 155,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 114,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 25.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 540,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,779,000 after purchasing an additional 108,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty
In other news, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total transaction of $106,223.66. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $723,000.58. This represents a 12.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 directly owned 256,251 shares in the company, valued at $20,146,453.62. This trade represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 224,969 shares of company stock valued at $18,027,948 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.
Assured Guaranty Stock Performance
Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $261.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.63 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 40.45% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The company’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is 17.45%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $108.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assured Guaranty currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.33.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on AGO
About Assured Guaranty
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.
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