Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the August 15th total of 1,070,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 375,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.
Assured Guaranty Trading Down 2.5 %
NYSE AGO traded down $1.34 on Tuesday, reaching $52.75. 4,473 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 308,215. The business's fifty day moving average price is $54.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Assured Guaranty has a fifty-two week low of $44.94 and a fifty-two week high of $65.68.
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Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 3rd. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.31). Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 7.00%.
Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 17th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Assured Guaranty's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.81%.
Insider Transactions at Assured Guaranty
In other news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 86,000 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.21, for a total value of $4,920,060.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,278,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,145,330.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 255.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 109.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 470 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 1st quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.30% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet lowered Assured Guaranty from a "b" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 13th. StockNews.com lowered Assured Guaranty from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 5th.
Assured Guaranty Company Profile
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Assured Guaranty Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Insurance and Asset Management. It offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.
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