Short Interest in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Declines By 8.5%

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,710,000 shares, a drop of 8.5% from the July 31st total of 47,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Maxim Group downgraded AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.13.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of AGNC opened at $10.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.75. AGNC Investment has a 52 week low of $6.81 and a 52 week high of $10.57. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.48.

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

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a aug 24 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a yield of 14.5%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.24%.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In related news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.07, for a total transaction of $50,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 298,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,002,692.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter worth $45,000. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).