AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Stock Price Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares were up 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $10.39 and last traded at $10.38. Approximately 4,114,284 shares traded hands 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

AGNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upgraded AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.93.

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

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,737,149.04. This represents a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGNC. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in AGNC Investment by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 30,506 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 3,409.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 696,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,281,000 after purchasing an additional 676,259 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in AGNC Investment by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,436,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,026,000 after purchasing an additional 68,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 210,477 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 31,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

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).