Ambac Financial Group (NYSE:AMBC) Shares Gap Up to $11.17

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMBC) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.17, but opened at $12.13. Ambac Financial Group shares last traded at $11.83, with a volume of 50,190 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Ambac Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Roth Mkm upgraded Ambac Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Ambac Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Ambac Financial Group Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $529.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 1.24.

Ambac Financial Group (NYSE:AMBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). Ambac Financial Group had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 10.79%. The firm had revenue of $105.00 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ambac Financial Group, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ambac Financial Group

In related news, General Counsel Stephen Michael Ksenak bought 5,000 shares of Ambac Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.00 per share, with a total value of $55,000.00. Following the acquisition, the general counsel now owns 116,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,282,699. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Stephen Michael Ksenak bought 5,000 shares of Ambac Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.00 per share, with a total value of $55,000.00. Following the acquisition, the general counsel now owns 116,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,282,699. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David Trick bought 3,700 shares of Ambac Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.76 per share, for a total transaction of $39,812.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 156,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,679,442.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 34,800 shares of company stock valued at $377,016. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ambac Financial Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in Ambac Financial Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 39,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Ambac Financial Group by 4.9% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 27,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Ambac Financial Group by 20.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Ambac Financial Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 38,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Ambac Financial Group by 830.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. 84.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ambac Financial Group

Ambac Financial Group, Inc operates as a financial services holding company. It operates three businesses: Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance, Insurance Distribution, and Legacy Financial Guarantee (LFG) Insurance. The Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance business provides specialty property and casualty program insurance with a focus commercial and personal liability risks.