AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 1.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares traded up 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $9.87 and last traded at $9.87. 5,629,858 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 16,362,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Argus raised shares of AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 0.3 %

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 company’s 50-day moving average is $10.14 and its 200-day moving average is $9.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 1.50.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly 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%. Research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 75,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,781.90. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,059 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).