Assured Guaranty recently announced a dividend of $0.31 per share, which translates to an annualized payout of $1.24 and a yield of approximately 1.37%. The company's dividend payout ratio is 9.63%, indicating a sustainable approach to returning capital to shareholders while reinvesting in its operations.
Several equities analysts have revised their target prices for Assured Guaranty. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target to $105.00 and assigned an "outperform" rating, while UBS Group increased their target to $95.00 and maintained a "neutral" stance. StockNews.com upgraded the company from a "sell" to a "hold" rating.
The stock opened at $90.75 on the day of the dividend announcement. Assured Guaranty has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 7.05.
Institutional interest in Assured Guaranty has been significant, with UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increasing its stake by 112.9% during the third quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional entities currently hold 92.22% of the stock. TCW Group Inc. established a new position in the second quarter, and Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake by 293.6%. These transactions indicate growing recognition of Assured Guaranty's potential for growth and stability.
Assured Guaranty recently reported quarterly earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations. The company posted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.42, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.42. Revenue for the quarter was $269 million, higher than the anticipated $202.57 million, although it represented a 33.3% decline year-over-year. Assured Guaranty's return on equity was 11.58%, with a net margin of 70.37%. Analysts forecast an EPS of 7.3 for the current fiscal year.
Insider trading activity has also been noteworthy, with Director Yukiko Omura selling 3,599 shares of the company on September 26th. Insider ownership currently accounts for 5.10% of the company's stock.