Lorin Radtke Sells 1,219 Shares of Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Stock

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total value of $106,223.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $723,000.58. This trade represents a 12.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGO traded down $0.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $86.76. The stock had a trading volume of 237,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,438. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $74.09 and a 12-month high of $92.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.55.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.78. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 45.31%.The firm had revenue of $277.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. Assured Guaranty’s revenue for the quarter was up 77.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 3,391.7% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 633.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AGO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Assured Guaranty from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.00.

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.