AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 0.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.17 and last traded at $10.14. Approximately 4,082,421 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 19,378,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.88.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $50,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 52.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 315.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AGNC Investment

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).