Jones Financial Companies Lllp Increases Stake in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 1,794.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AGO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Assured Guaranty by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AGO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $86.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1 year low of $72.57 and a 1 year high of $96.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 1.11.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.07). Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. The business had revenue of $199.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

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.