Analysts Set Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Target Price at $91.67

Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $91.6667.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AGO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Assured Guaranty from $103.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Roth Capital downgraded Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assured Guaranty news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured bought 242,718 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.72 per share, for a total transaction of $5,999,988.96. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,002,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,787,188.96. The trade was a 31.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lorin Radtke sold 1,047 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,307 shares in the company, valued at $691,696.24. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings 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 valued at $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 22,486 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position 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 valued at $21,024,000 after purchasing an additional 16,235 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 8.9% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 99.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth about $553,000. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of AGO stock opened at $85.47 on Wednesday. Assured Guaranty has a 52-week low of $72.76 and a 52-week high of $92.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.05 and its 200-day moving average is $82.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $1.00. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 40.45% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The company had revenue of $261.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. Assured Guaranty’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Assured Guaranty will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is 17.45%.

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.