Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.31 EPS

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.31, FiscalAI reports. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 37.34%. The firm had revenue of $214.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE AGO traded up $1.77 on Friday, hitting $73.53. 505,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 355,128. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Assured Guaranty has a 52-week low of $67.24 and a 52-week high of $92.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.65.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Assured Guaranty from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Assured Guaranty from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group set a $91.00 price target on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.00.

About Assured Guaranty

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE: AGO) is a Bermuda-based financial services company that provides credit protection products through its operating insurance subsidiaries. The company’s core business is financial guaranty insurance, which generally guarantees the payment of scheduled principal and interest on debt obligations if the issuer or borrower defaults.

Assured Guaranty primarily serves the public finance and infrastructure markets. Its guarantees support municipal bonds and other public-sector debt, as well as obligations related to transportation, utilities, social infrastructure and other essential-service projects.