Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AGO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Compass Point initiated coverage on Assured Guaranty in a report on Monday, November 28th. They set a buy rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Roth Capital restated a buy rating on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $76.33.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 5.3 %

AGO opened at $47.42 on Thursday. Assured Guaranty has a fifty-two week low of $45.91 and a fifty-two week high of $67.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.94 and a 200-day moving average of $58.36.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 8th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 7th. This is a boost from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 57.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGO. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its position in Assured Guaranty by 275.2% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 6,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 17.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 107,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,829,000 after purchasing an additional 15,838 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the first quarter worth about $203,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 27.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 35.8% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 20,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 5,388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.51% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Company Profile

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Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of credit protection products to the U.S. and international public finance, and structured finance markets through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Insurance and Asset Management. The Insurance segment includes the company’s domestic and foreign insurance subsidiaries and their wholly-owned subsidiaries that provide credit protection products to the U.S.