AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Down 2% – Here’s Why

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares traded down 2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $9.54 and last traded at $9.57. 9,647,835 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 16,452,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Argus raised shares of AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 2.5 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 1.50.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.45%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In related news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $50,500.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 372,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 6.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 10.0% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently 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).