Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $2.82 Million Stock Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 204.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,924 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $2,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Assured Guaranty by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,198,000 after buying an additional 22,486 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 7.3% during the 1st 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 28.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 53.4% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 108,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,437,000 after purchasing an additional 37,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the second quarter valued at approximately $323,000. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Assured Guaranty news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 4,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total transaction of $65,282.22. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,269,690 shares in the company, valued at $75,409,263.90. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 10,566 shares of company stock worth $153,269 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE AGO opened at $83.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a one year low of $74.09 and a one year high of $96.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.01.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $1.03. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 40.65% and a return on equity of 7.09%. The firm had revenue of $207.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is presently 16.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assured Guaranty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.00.

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.