AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 0.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $10.39 and last traded at $10.38. Approximately 4,114,284 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 15,988,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AGNC shares. StockNews.com raised AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.50.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.45%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 75,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at $3,737,149.04. This trade represents a 3.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in AGNC Investment by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 18,259 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 18,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

About AGNC Investment

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).