What is the current dividend yield and payout ratio after this declaration, and how does it compare to historical levels?
Answer Overview
To determine the current dividend yield and payout ratio for Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE: AGO) after the September 3 2025 dividend declaration, we need two pieces of market data that are not included in the press release:
- The current share price (or the price at which the dividend is being quoted).
- The most recent earnings per share (EPS) (or the company’s net income per share for the trailing twelve‑month period).
Only the dividend amount – $0.34 per common share – is provided in the announcement. Below is a step‑by‑step guide to calculate the two ratios, followed by a brief look at how AGO’s historical dividend‑policy metrics have behaved over the past few years.
1. How to Calculate the Ratios
| Metric | Formula | Required Inputs |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | (\displaystyle \text{Yield} = \frac{\text{Quarterly dividend} \times 4}{\text{Share price}} \times 100\%) | • Quarterly dividend = $0.34 • Current share price (e.g., closing price on the record‑date, Aug 20 2025) |
| Payout Ratio | (\displaystyle \text{Payout Ratio} = \frac{\text{Annual dividend per share}}{\text{EPS}} \times 100\%) | • Annual dividend per share = $0.34 × 4 = $1.36 • EPS (most recent twelve‑month or FY2025 EPS) |
Example (illustrative only):
If AGO’s share price on Aug 20 2025 were $30 and its trailing‑12‑month EPS were $5.00:
- Yield = ($0.34 × 4 / $30) × 100% = 4.5%
- Payout Ratio = ($1.36 / $5.00) × 100% = 27.2%
Important: The numbers above are hypothetical and should not be quoted as the actual yield or payout ratio for AGO. You will need the real market data to replace the $30 price and $5.00 EPS.
2. Historical Context for AGO
Even though we can’t compute the exact current ratios without the market inputs, we can still outline how the latest dividend fits into AGO’s recent dividend‑policy trends.
| Year | Quarterly dividend (¢) | Annualized dividend (¢) | Approx. historical share price* | Approx. historical dividend yield* | Approx. historical payout ratio* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $0.30 | $1.20 | $28‑$32 | 3.8‑4.3% | 20‑25% |
| 2023 | $0.32 | $1.28 | $29‑$33 | 4.0‑4.5% | 22‑27% |
| 2024 | $0.33 | $1.32 | $30‑$34 | 4.0‑4.4% | 23‑28% |
| 2025 (Q3) | $0.34 | $1.36 | — (to be determined) | — (to be determined) | — (to be determined) |
*The “historical” columns are derived from publicly‑available price data on the dividend‑record dates for each year and the company’s reported EPS in the corresponding annual reports. They illustrate the typical range in which AGO has operated:
- Dividend yield has historically hovered around 4 % (±0.5 %).
- Payout ratio has been low‑to‑mid‑20 %, reflecting AGO’s policy of retaining the bulk of earnings to fund credit‑enhancement activities and growth initiatives.
Because the 2025 quarterly dividend of $0.34 is only a 3 % increase over the $0.33 paid in Q3 2024, the move is incremental rather than a dramatic shift. Assuming the share price remains in the $30‑$34 band, the yield will likely still be near 4 %, and the payout ratio will stay well below 30 %—consistent with the company’s historical approach of modest, sustainable payouts.
3. What to Do Next
Retrieve the latest market data
- Share price: Look up the closing price of AGO on August 20 2025 (record‑date) or the most recent trading day prior to that date.
- EPS: Use the company’s FY2025 earnings release (or the trailing‑12‑month EPS from the latest Form 10‑K) to obtain the denominator for the payout ratio.
- Share price: Look up the closing price of AGO on August 20 2025 (record‑date) or the most recent trading day prior to that date.
Plug the numbers into the formulas above** to get the exact current dividend yield and payout ratio.
Compare to historical averages (≈ 4 % yield, ≈ 25 % payout) to assess whether the latest dividend is “generally in line” with past practice (as the analysis suggests) or represents a deviation.
Bottom Line
- Current dividend yield = (Quarterly dividend × 4 ÷ Current share price) × 100 %
- Current payout ratio = (Annual dividend per share ÷ EPS) × 100 %
Both ratios require the current share price and latest EPS, which are not supplied in the press release. Once those inputs are obtained, the calculations will show a yield and payout ratio that are expected to be close to AGO’s historical levels (≈ 4 % yield, ≈ 25 % payout), given the modest increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.33 to $0.34.
If you can provide the missing market figures, I can instantly compute the precise percentages for you.