Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Stock Price Down 5.8% on Disappointing Earnings

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) shares were down 5.8% during trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $77.51 and last traded at $77.8060. 38,282 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 346,722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.57.

The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 40.45% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $195.00 million for the quarter.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $103.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Roth Capital lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured bought 209,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.83 per share, with a total value of $5,199,104.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,212,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,096,591.98. The trade was a 20.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.32, for a total transaction of $77,813.04. Following the sale, the director owned 9,307 shares in the company, valued at $691,696.24. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Assured Guaranty by 633.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 309.2% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 6.3%

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.95.

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.