Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Sells 45,344 Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. lowered its holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 39.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 45,344 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in AGNC Investment by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,995,789 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,461,255 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 12.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,693,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $155,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,785 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the second quarter valued at $109,814,000. Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.8% in the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 9,554,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,542,000 after buying an additional 164,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 4,295,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,056,000 after buying an additional 482,130 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total value of $605,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 552,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,688,316.67. The trade was a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bernice Bell sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total transaction of $303,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 491,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,969,577.92. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 775,000 shares of company stock worth $9,246,000. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.03.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $11.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 12-month low of $7.85 and a 12-month high of $12.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.08 and a 200-day moving average of $10.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 1.37.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 47.40%.The business had revenue of $995.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.75 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.86%.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

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.