Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 400,293 Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. cut its stake in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 35.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 741,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 400,293 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $7,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $109,814,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 10.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,995,789 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,990,000 after buying an additional 2,461,255 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 27.0% in the second quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 9,390,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995,369 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,693,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $155,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,440,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $944,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591,465 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGNC has been the topic of several research reports. BTIG Research downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, JonesTrading cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.03.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ AGNC opened at $11.32 on Friday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $12.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.24 and its 200-day moving average is $10.45.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $995.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.75 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 47.40%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.7%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total transaction of $8,337,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,189,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,072,073.81. The trade was a 24.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total transaction of $605,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 552,297 shares in the company, valued at $6,688,316.67. The trade was a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 775,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,246,000. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About AGNC Investment

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.