Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Separately, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

NYSE AGO traded down $2.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.95. The stock had a trading volume of 439,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,795. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $82.61 and its 200 day moving average is $79.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Assured Guaranty has a twelve month low of $65.39 and a twelve month high of $96.60.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In related 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 sale, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,593.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,423,321.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGO. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 183.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 386 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.