AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 51,530,000 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the December 15th total of 41,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 200.5% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 14,446,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $151,113,000 after purchasing an additional 9,639,675 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 314.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,842,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,196,000 after buying an additional 2,916,345 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $17,463,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 115.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,912,694 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,007,000 after buying an additional 1,023,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 945.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,072,039 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $102,489,000 after buying an additional 969,475 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $9.55 on Friday. AGNC Investment has a 12 month low of $8.92 and a 12 month high of $10.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $756.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.50 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 42.19% and a return on equity of 23.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that AGNC Investment will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a jan 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 15.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AGNC. StockNews.com lowered AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.44.

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).