Chou Associates Management Inc. Makes New $1.36 Million Investment in Assured Guaranty Ltd. $AGO

Chou Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 16,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,000. Assured Guaranty makes up about 0.6% of Chou Associates Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 633.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 309.2% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured purchased 209,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.83 per share, for a total transaction of $5,199,104.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,212,106 shares in the company, valued at $30,096,591.98. This represents a 20.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director directly owned 9,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,696.24. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGO opened at $74.31 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 0.75. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1-year low of $72.76 and a 1-year high of $92.39.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 37.34% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The company had revenue of $195.00 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AGO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Roth Capital cut shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.33.

Assured Guaranty Profile

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.