Versor Investments LP Reduces Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

Versor Investments LP cut its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO – Get Rating) by 44.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,314 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGO. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter valued at $570,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 7.0% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 10,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the second quarter valued at $511,000. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the first quarter valued at $11,857,000. Finally, Cambria Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 11.1% in the second quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 108,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,035,000 after purchasing an additional 10,818 shares during the last quarter. 90.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In related news, insider Howard Albert sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.28, for a total transaction of $2,319,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,907,206. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGO has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet raised shares of Assured Guaranty from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 11th. Finally, Compass Point began coverage on shares of Assured Guaranty in a research report on Monday, November 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company.

Assured Guaranty Stock Down 1.0 %

AGO opened at $60.55 on Wednesday. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a twelve month low of $45.91 and a twelve month high of $67.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.76. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 42.22% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm had revenue of $41.00 million during the quarter.

Assured Guaranty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 16th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Assured Guaranty Profile

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Assured Guaranty Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Insurance and Asset Management. It offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.