Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

AGM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $217.00 to $219.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Federal Agricultural Mortgage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:AGM opened at $155.26 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $173.56 and its 200 day moving average is $175.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.99. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 52-week low of $146.69 and a 52-week high of $210.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The credit services provider reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $101.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.45 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 17.6 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 436,786 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $76,686,000 after purchasing an additional 16,107 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.1% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 420,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,137,000 after buying an additional 4,764 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 358,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $63,013,000 after acquiring an additional 46,262 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 288,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $48,496,000 after acquiring an additional 25,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,324,000. 68.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: AGM), commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Farmer Mac was established to enhance the availability of mortgage credit for the agricultural and rural utility sectors. The corporation operates as a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural infrastructure loans, providing lenders with liquidity and risk management solutions.

The company’s principal business activities include purchasing and securitizing long-term fixed-rate agricultural mortgage loans and rural utilities loans originated by approved lenders.