UBS Group Boosts Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Price Target to $95.00

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) had its price target raised by investment analysts at UBS Group from $87.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.89% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $92.33. The company had a trading volume of 107,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,510. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Assured Guaranty has a 12-month low of $65.39 and a 12-month high of $96.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.78.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.57 million. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Assured Guaranty will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $2,480,310.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGO. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Assured Guaranty by 39.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 261.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,513,000 after buying an additional 29,121 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth $218,000. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter valued at about $452,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Assured Guaranty during the first quarter worth approximately $861,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.