AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Up 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) were up 1.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $10.45 and last traded at $10.43. Approximately 19,562,474 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 19,267,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.63 and a 200 day moving average of $9.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.48.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. On average, research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a feb 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 13.8%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 75,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 18,259 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in AGNC Investment by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 18,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in AGNC Investment by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp., formerly American Capital Agency Corp., is a real estate investment trust. The Company invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. Its investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by the United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs).