AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $12.01 and last traded at $11.9450, with a volume of 5656612 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AGNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on AGNC Investment from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.41.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $995.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.75 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 24.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.0%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 214.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 181,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 67,355 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in AGNC Investment by 78.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 3,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $325,000. Delphi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $574,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth about $6,170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp. is a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily acquires and manages a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The company employs a leveraged total return strategy, borrowing against its securities to enhance income potential while using interest rate hedges to manage risk. AGNC’s investment objective is to generate attractive monthly dividends and long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, AGNC focuses exclusively on U.S.