** Shares of property and casualty insurer Ambac Financial AMBC.N fall as much as 7.6%; last down 5.2% at $8.91

** AMBC will be removed from the S&P SmallCap 600 index effective prior to market open on March 24, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced late Friday

** S&P SmallCap 600 provides investors with a benchmark for small-sized companies in the U.S. equities market

** AMBC had a market cap of $434.7 million as of last close - LSEG data

** All two brokerages covering the stock rate it "buy" or higher; median PT is $17

** AMBC stock down 29.6% YTD

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)

((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))