Insider Buying: Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Major Shareholder Purchases $5,199,104.04 in Stock

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured purchased 209,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.83 per share, for a total transaction of $5,199,104.04. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,212,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,096,591.98. This trade represents a 20.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Guaranty Ltd Assured also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 30th, Guaranty Ltd Assured purchased 242,718 shares of Assured Guaranty stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.72 per share, with a total value of $5,999,988.96.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:AGO opened at $84.26 on Friday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $72.76 and a twelve month high of $92.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.06.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 40.45% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $261.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.63 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AGO shares. Weiss Ratings raised Assured Guaranty from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Roth Capital lowered Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $103.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 309.2% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

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.