Short Interest in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Rises By 14.1%

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 935,600 shares, a growth of 14.1% from the September 30th total of 820,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 357,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

NYSE AGO traded down $0.67 on Thursday, hitting $85.02. 48,917 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,989. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.16 and its 200 day moving average is $78.99. Assured Guaranty has a 52 week low of $61.83 and a 52 week high of $96.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $202.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.05 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 61.17% and a return on equity of 13.19%. Assured Guaranty’s quarterly revenue was down 43.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty will post 6.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 10.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AGO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Assured Guaranty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Assured Guaranty from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Assured Guaranty in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Assured Guaranty from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,423,321.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of Assured Guaranty 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 in the company, valued at $1,537,593.05. The trade was 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the first quarter worth $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Assured Guaranty by 183.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 55.7% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.