Overview

* Assured Guaranty ( AGO ) Q2 net income rises to $103 mln, $2.08 per share

* Q2 adjusted operating income falls to $50 mln, $1.01 per share

* Co returned $150 mln to shareholders, increased share repurchase by $300 mln

Result Drivers

* HIGHER LOSS EXPENSES - Adjusted operating income decreased due to higher loss expenses in U.S. and non-U.S. public finance sectors

* LOWER FAIR VALUE GAINS - Decrease in adjusted operating income also attributed to lower fair value gains on trading securities

* INVESTMENT INCOME - Net investment income increased, driven by CLO equity tranches, despite lower short-term investment income

Key Details

Metric Beat/Mis Actual Consensu

s s

Estimate

Q2 Gross $85 mln

Written

Premiums

Q2 EPS $2.08

Q2 Net $103 mln

Income

Q2 $50 mln

Adjusted

EBIT

Analyst Coverage

* The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 3 "strong buy" or "buy", 1 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

* The average consensus recommendation for the property & casualty insurance peer group is "buy"

* Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Assured Guaranty Ltd ( AGO ) is $107.50, about 19.8% above its August 6 closing price of $86.17

* The stock recently traded at 12 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 12 three months ago

Press Release:

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)