AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 1.2% Higher – Here’s Why

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares traded up 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $9.27 and last traded at $9.24. 6,164,474 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 14,255,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AGNC Investment from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com cut AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. One equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.44.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.93.

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

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 200.5% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 9,639,675 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 314.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,842,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,196,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916,345 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the third quarter valued at $17,463,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 115.0% during the third 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 valued at $20,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023,275 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 945.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,072,039 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,489,000 after purchasing an additional 969,475 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).