Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $1.08 Million Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $293,632,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 12.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,012,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,206,000 after buying an additional 109,282 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth $5,920,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 47.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 176,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,537,000 after buying an additional 57,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the first quarter worth $4,775,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE AGO opened at $90.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.21 and its 200-day moving average is $84.03. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12-month low of $74.09 and a 12-month high of $96.50.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $1.03. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 44.53% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The company had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.76 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Assured Guaranty’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is 16.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AGO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $2,095,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,287,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,956,525.49. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 1,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.64, for a total value of $31,316.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,281,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,877,703.68. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,929 shares of company stock worth $2,386,674. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.