Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) saw a significant drop in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 100,100 shares, a drop of 11.5% from the May 31st total of 113,100 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 44,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of AGM traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $181.47. The company had a trading volume of 21,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,277. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $178.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 52 week low of $137.16 and a 52 week high of $199.40.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.94 by $0.02. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 13.79%. The firm had revenue of $403.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 16.67 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is 34.15%.

Institutional Trading of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGM. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 11,372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 194.2% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 6.4% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a report on Wednesday, May 8th.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company's Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.