AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.33.

A number of research firms have issued reports on AGNC. Maxim Group cut AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.50 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In related news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 298,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,002,692.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,215,000. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth $717,000. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 985.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 185,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 168,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 53.0% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 23,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 8,039 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $10.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.19 and a 200-day moving average of $9.84. AGNC Investment has a 12 month low of $6.81 and a 12 month high of $10.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 1.47.

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

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.91%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.24%.

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).