Short Interest in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) Grows By 13.4%

Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, an increase of 13.4% from the November 30th total of 943,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 308,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Assured Guaranty from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Assured Guaranty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Assured Guaranty from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

AGO stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.01. The company had a trading volume of 227,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,836. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.11. Assured Guaranty has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.82.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last posted its quarterly 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. Assured Guaranty had a net margin of 70.37% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $269.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Assured Guaranty’s revenue was down 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Assured Guaranty will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is 9.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the third quarter worth about $53,026,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 82.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 662,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,101,000 after buying an additional 299,658 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Assured Guaranty by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,322,000 after buying an additional 184,621 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 valued at $34,525,000 after acquiring an additional 146,107 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 112.9% during the third 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 worth $17,249,000 after acquiring an additional 115,012 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.