Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
($ in thousands, except per share amounts)
Market Information
The Company 's common stock trades on the NYSE under the symbol “AMBC".
Holders
On March 4, 2025, there were 27 stockholders of record of AFG’s common stock.
Dividends
The Company did not pay cash dividends on its common stock during 2024 and 2023. Information concerning restrictions on the payment of dividends from Ambac's insurance subsidiaries is set forth in Item 1 above under the caption “Dividend Restrictions, Including Contractual Restrictions" and in Note 9. Insurance Regulatory Restrictions to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Purchases of Equity Securities By the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
When restricted stock unit awards issued by Ambac vest or settle, they become taxable compensation to employees. For certain awards, shares may be withheld to cover the employee's portion of withholding taxes. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Ambac purchased shares from employees that settled restricted stock units to meet employee tax withholdings.
On March 29, 2022, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing up to $20,000 in share repurchases, with an expiration date of March 31, 2024. On May 5, 2022, the Board of Directors authorized an additional $15,000 share repurchase. This program expired on March 31, 2024.
On November 12, 2024, Ambac’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program, under which Ambac may opportunistically repurchase up to $50,000 of the Company’s common shares at management’s discretion over the period ending on December 31, 2026. From November 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024, AFG repurchased 937,141 shares for $11,698.5 at an average purchase price of $12.48 per share. Shares purchased from employees to satisfy withholding taxes, as described above, do not count towards utilization under the Company's share repurchase program.
The following table summarizes Ambac's share purchases during the fourth quarter of 2024.
($ in thousands)
Oct-2024 Nov-2024 Dec-2024 Fourth Quarter 2024
Total Shares Purchased
887 — — 887
Average Price Paid Per Share $ 11.26 $ — $ — $ 11.26
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plan — 585,000 352,141 937,141
Maximum Dollar Value That may Yet be Purchased Under the Plan
$ — $ 42,713 $ 37,674 $ 37,674
When restricted stock unit awards issued by Ambac vest or settle, they become taxable compensation to employees. For certain awards, shares may be withheld to cover the employee's portion of withholding taxes. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Ambac purchased shares from employees that settled restricted stock units to meet employee tax withholdings.
The following table shows shares repurchased by year.
($ in thousands,
except per share)
Year ended December 31, 2022 2023 2024
Shares repurchased 1,605,316
325,068 937,141
Total cost $ 14,217 $ 4,510 $ 11,698
Average purchase price per share $ 8.86 $ 13.88 $ 12.48
Unused authorization amount $ 38,302
Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 27
2024 Form 10-K
Table of Contents ,
Stock Performance Graph
The following graph compares the performance of an investment in our common stock from the close of business on December 31, 2019, through December 31, 2024, with the Russell 2000 Index and S&P Completion Index. The graph assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2019, in our common stock at the closing price of $21.57 per share and at the closing price for the Russell 2000 Index and S&P Completion Index. It also assumes that dividends (if any) were reinvested on the date of payment without payment of any commissions. The performance shown in the graph represents past performance and should not be considered an indication of future performance.
December 31,
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ambac Financial Group, Inc. $100 $71 $75 $81 $76 $59
Russell 2000 Index $100 $119 $135 $106 $122 $134
S&P Completion Index $100 $131 $146 $105 $130 $150
Item 6. [Reserved]