Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) Given New $75.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.74% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Assured Guaranty in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Assured Guaranty Trading Up 0.6 %

Assured Guaranty stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.94. 11,705 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 248,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Assured Guaranty has a 52-week low of $45.21 and a 52-week high of $67.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.06.

Insider Activity

In other Assured Guaranty news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.13, for a total value of $1,832,494.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,371,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,810,208.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Dominic Frederico sold 29,977 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.13, for a total transaction of $1,832,494.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,371,016 shares in the company, valued at $83,810,208.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert Bailenson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $583,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 296,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,320,276.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,977 shares of company stock worth $2,987,694. Insiders own 3.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assured Guaranty

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Assured Guaranty during the 4th quarter valued at $36,561,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Assured Guaranty by 547.9% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 642,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,881,000 after acquiring an additional 543,291 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Assured Guaranty by 5.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,928,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $504,714,000 after purchasing an additional 410,594 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 169.5% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 516,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,957,000 after purchasing an additional 324,737 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Assured Guaranty by 56.9% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 713,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,500,000 after purchasing an additional 258,758 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Assured Guaranty

Assured Guaranty Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides credit protection products to public finance, infrastructure, and structured finance markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Insurance and Asset Management. It offers financial guaranty insurance that protects holders of debt instruments and other monetary obligations from defaults in scheduled payments.