Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 22,486 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,024,000 after purchasing an additional 16,235 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 8.9% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 99.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 2nd quarter worth about $553,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured acquired 209,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.83 per share, with a total value of $5,199,104.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,212,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,096,591.98. The trade was a 20.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE AGO opened at $75.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.75. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $72.76 and a one year high of $92.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.90.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 37.34% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The business had revenue of $195.00 million during the quarter. Analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AGO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Roth Capital cut shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.33.

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.