AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) rose 0.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.43 and last traded at $9.39. Approximately 3,542,889 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 14,194,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AGNC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AGNC Investment from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AGNC Investment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.44.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 0.5 %

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’s fifty day moving average price is $9.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.94. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.47.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $756.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.50 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 42.19%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dec 24 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a yield of 15.1%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth $31,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 315.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

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).