WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys New Shares in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 64,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,799,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned 0.13% of Assured Guaranty at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 8.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth about $277,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 50.7% in 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. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 221.8% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 45,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,609,000 after buying an additional 31,280 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 216,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,249,000 after buying an additional 115,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE AGO opened at $88.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 52 week low of $72.57 and a 52 week high of $96.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.65. The company has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.86 and a beta of 1.11.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.07). Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The business had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.94%.

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.