Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Announces Earnings Results

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.28), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $195.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.03 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 37.34% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The firm’s revenue was down 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO traded down $7.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.42. The company had a trading volume of 588,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 311,513. Assured Guaranty has a 12 month low of $72.76 and a 12 month high of $92.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors 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 (DPR) is presently 17.45%.

Trending Headlines about Assured Guaranty

Here are the key news stories impacting Assured Guaranty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Assured Guaranty declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, payable September 3 to shareholders of record August 20. The dividend represents an annualized yield of approximately 1.8%, providing ongoing shareholder income. Assured Guaranty dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The company posted updated investor materials and disclosures on August 7. No specific financial change or new guidance was identified in the announcement, so the immediate stock impact appears limited. Updated investor materials and disclosures
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings were $1.23 per share, below consensus estimates ranging from $1.51 to $1.66. Although EPS increased from $1.01 a year earlier, the earnings miss is likely weighing on investor sentiment. Assured Guaranty Q2 earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue was $195 million, below the approximately $205 million consensus estimate and down 30.6% year over year. The revenue shortfall, combined with the EPS miss, is the primary catalyst behind the stock’s decline. Assured Guaranty Q2 earnings snapshot Assured Guaranty revenue estimate miss

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In other news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured purchased 209,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.83 per share, with a total value of $5,199,104.04. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,212,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,096,591.98. The trade was a 20.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert Bailenson sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.62, for a total value of $3,931,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 256,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,146,453.62. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 6.3% in the third quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 12.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 8.9% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGO. Weiss Ratings cut Assured Guaranty from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Assured Guaranty from $103.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Roth Capital cut Assured Guaranty from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.67.

Assured Guaranty Company 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.