Assured Guaranty Boosts Dividend By Nearly 10%

Assured Guaranty Ltd. said Wednesday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 9.6% to 14.25 cents a share from 13 cents a share. The credit enhancement company's new dividend will be payable March 22 to shareholders of record on March 8. Based on Tuesday's stock closing price of $41.36, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.38%, compared with the aggregate S&P 500 dividend yield of 2.01%, according to FactSet. Assured Guaranty's stock, which was still inactive ahead of the open, has soared 71% over the past 12 months while the S&P 500 has gained 22%.