Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $89.56, but opened at $95.00. Assured Guaranty shares last traded at $92.98, with a volume of 32,508 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.57 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 61.17% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is 10.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AGO shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Assured Guaranty from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Assured Guaranty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In other news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $2,480,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $286,948.27. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 183.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 2.1 %

The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

Assured Guaranty Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The company offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.