AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shot up 0.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $10.37 and last traded at $10.35. 2,029,142 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 12,932,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AGNC shares. Maxim Group cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Compass Point raised their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.33.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $695.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.29 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 26.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a oct 24 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 14%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In related news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.07, for a total transaction of $50,350.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 298,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,002,692.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the first quarter worth $38,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. 38.28% of the stock is 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).