AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Up 0.1% – What’s Next?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares shot up 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $10.49 and last traded at $10.45. 5,283,367 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 18,999,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AGNC. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.66 and its 200-day moving average is $9.89.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a feb 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a yield of 13.8%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 524.1% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 7,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 6,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by 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).