AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

AGNC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a buy rating and a $10.50 target price for the company. Compass Point raised their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $11.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $10.33.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

AGNC opened at $10.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. AGNC Investment has a 1-year low of $6.81 and a 1-year high of $10.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.82.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 26.21%. The company had revenue of $695.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. AGNC Investment’s revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.73%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 158.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in AGNC Investment by 5.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 6.7% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 8.1% in the first quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.9% in the second quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 26,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 52.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently 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).