AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $9.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.39.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ AGNC opened at $10.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. AGNC Investment has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $10.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.90.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 24.40%.The business had revenue of $836.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $466.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.3%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 214.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 45,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.27, for a total transaction of $470,345.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,557,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,508.27. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the first quarter valued at about $487,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 23,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,590 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 197,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 8,168 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 75.1% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

AGNC Investment Corp. is a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily acquires and manages a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The company employs a leveraged total return strategy, borrowing against its securities to enhance income potential while using interest rate hedges to manage risk. AGNC’s investment objective is to generate attractive monthly dividends and long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, AGNC focuses exclusively on U.S.