Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 943,800 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the November 15th total of 893,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 328,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO opened at $90.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.81. Assured Guaranty has a 52-week low of $71.41 and a 52-week high of $96.60. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.11.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $269.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.57 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm’s revenue was down 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is 9.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $286,948.27. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,285 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,593.05. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,026,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 worth $51,101,000 after acquiring an additional 299,658 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 37.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,322,000 after acquiring an additional 184,621 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,525,000 after acquiring an additional 146,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 216,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,249,000 after acquiring an additional 115,012 shares during the period. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AGO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

About Assured Guaranty

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.