UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Stock

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $87.00 to $95.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.77% from the company’s previous close.

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

Assured Guaranty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGO opened at $91.55 on Monday. Assured Guaranty has a twelve month low of $65.39 and a twelve month high of $96.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.88.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $269.00 million during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Assured Guaranty will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assured Guaranty

In other news, Director Yukiko Omura sold 3,599 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $286,948.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,593.05. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 31,000 shares of Assured Guaranty stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $2,480,310.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,380,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,423,321.19. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assured Guaranty

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the third quarter worth $31,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assured Guaranty during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 66.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 92.22% of the company’s stock.

Assured Guaranty Company 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.