AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Up 1.8% Following Dividend Announcement

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares rose 1.8% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $10.19 and last traded at $10.22. Approximately 5,061,734 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 15,943,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.04.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AGNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Argus upgraded AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.98 and its 200 day moving average is $9.93.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released 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 return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of AGNC Investment 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 transaction, the director now owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at $766,781.90. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 3.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,316,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $767,348,000 after purchasing an additional 10,316,999 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in AGNC Investment by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,614,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $134,645,000 after buying an additional 2,311,105 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 200.5% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 14,446,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $151,113,000 after acquiring an additional 9,639,675 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,269,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,662,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,392,000 after purchasing an additional 424,990 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).