Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on AGO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Assured Guaranty from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of AGO opened at $86.77 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.74 and a 200-day moving average of $78.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 1.11. Assured Guaranty has a 1 year low of $59.01 and a 1 year high of $96.60.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 61.17% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The firm had revenue of $202.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 43.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assured Guaranty

In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $286,948.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,593.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $286,948.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,593.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,423,321.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGO. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 82.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 662,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,101,000 after purchasing an additional 299,658 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,554,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,322,000 after buying an additional 184,621 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 293.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 126,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,773,000 after acquiring an additional 94,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 7.8% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 977,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,751,000 after acquiring an additional 71,114 shares during the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.