XTX Topco Ltd Increases Holdings in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Assured Guaranty were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 108.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at $97,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 554.2% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Assured Guaranty during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 10,438 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $899,024.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,337,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,210,502.55. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of AGO stock opened at $82.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.27. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 1-year low of $73.89 and a 1-year high of $96.50. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.56). Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 44.53%. The business had revenue of $281.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assured Guaranty Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Assured Guaranty’s payout ratio is currently 15.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Assured Guaranty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group cut Assured Guaranty from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Friday.

Assured Guaranty Profile

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.