KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 22,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Assured Guaranty by 100.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assured Guaranty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Assured Guaranty by 1,794.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. 92.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assured Guaranty Stock Performance

Shares of Assured Guaranty stock opened at $88.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 1.11. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.65. Assured Guaranty Ltd. has a 12 month low of $72.57 and a 12 month high of $96.50.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $199.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. Assured Guaranty had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 70.37%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Assured Guaranty Ltd. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Assured Guaranty Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from Assured Guaranty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Assured Guaranty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

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.