Short Interest in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Drops By 22.1%

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,570,000 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the February 28th total of 59,800,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 21,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 5.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

NASDAQ AGNC opened at $9.58 on Tuesday. AGNC Investment has a 52-week low of $8.92 and a 52-week high of $10.85. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.14 and a 200-day moving average of $9.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 148.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at $3,737,149.04. This trade represents a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 734,414 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after acquiring an additional 37,683 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 54,049 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 69,946 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 44,624 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upgraded shares of AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.50.

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).