AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)’s share price was up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.15 and last traded at $10.15. Approximately 12,464,201 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 22,357,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AGNC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BTIG Research lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JonesTrading cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.91.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.96 and a 200 day moving average of $10.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 47.40% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.75 million. As a group, research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. 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 Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AGNC Investment news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total transaction of $303,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 491,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,969,577.92. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total value of $8,337,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,189,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,072,073.81. This represents a 24.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 775,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,246,000 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 100.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.