AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 1.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares rose 1.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $10.15 and last traded at $10.15. Approximately 12,464,201 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 22,357,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AGNC. BTIG Research lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $12.00 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JonesTrading downgraded AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.91.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 1.3%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.38.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 47.40% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.75 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.2%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 25,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total value of $303,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 491,728 shares in the company, valued at $5,969,577.92. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total transaction of $8,337,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,189,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,072,073.81. The trade was a 24.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 775,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,246,000. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,830,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth $33,210,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 19,632.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,108,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,693,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $155,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906,785 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,097,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $312,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,244 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.