AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) were up 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $9.32 and last traded at $9.31. Approximately 6,751,318 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 21,294,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $8.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jones Trading lowered their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $9.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.75.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.47.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $846.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.71 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Research analysts expect that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a may 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 16.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 360.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 48,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.70, for a total transaction of $420,497.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,691,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,715,362.70. This trade represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bernice Bell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.88, for a total transaction of $71,040.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 374,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,321,288.72. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,384 shares of company stock valued at $1,228,039 in the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 777,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,446,000 after acquiring an additional 47,699 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in AGNC Investment during the first quarter valued at $2,149,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 2.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,067,011 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,222,000 after purchasing an additional 26,942 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the first quarter valued at about $1,916,000. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new position in AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter valued at $996,000. 38.28% of the stock is 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).