AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $11.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

AGNC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $10.08 on Thursday. AGNC Investment has a 52-week low of $8.92 and a 52-week high of $10.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.90.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a jan 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 15.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is currently 148.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,768,305 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,796,000 after purchasing an additional 162,152 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 200.5% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 14,446,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $151,113,000 after buying an additional 9,639,675 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,552,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,242,000 after purchasing an additional 71,330 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,303,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $128,730,000 after acquiring an additional 242,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 195.2% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 53,834 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 35,598 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).