Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.38

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th.

Assured Guaranty has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 7 years. Assured Guaranty has a payout ratio of 21.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Assured Guaranty to earn $6.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.4%.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Assured Guaranty stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $82.63. 289,314 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,911. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.97. Assured Guaranty has a 12-month low of $72.76 and a 12-month high of $92.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 0.75.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.28). Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 40.45% and a return on equity of 6.98%. Equities research analysts predict that Assured Guaranty will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total value of $77,813.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,696.24. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total value of $3,931,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 256,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,146,453.62. The trade was a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assured Guaranty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 633.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter worth $44,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 309.2% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

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.