Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.78 EPS

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) released its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.78, FiscalAI reports. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 40.65%.The firm had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.83 million.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of AGO stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $86.74. 269,576 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 269,560. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Assured Guaranty has a 12-month low of $74.09 and a 12-month high of $93.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.94.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is 18.86%.

Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty

In related news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 4,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $65,282.22. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,269,690 shares in the company, valued at $75,409,263.90. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,701 shares of company stock worth $154,990. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 633.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Assured Guaranty from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.