AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its position in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,682,178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 120,657 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $16,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Estate Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the first quarter valued at about $1,957,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 12.7% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 290,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 32,760 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 15.6% during the first quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 5,663 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 26.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 359,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,604,000 after acquiring an additional 74,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sona Asset Management US LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,003,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AGNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.11.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $10.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.78. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 12 month low of $9.31 and a 12 month high of $12.19. The company has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a PE ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.32.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $305.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 57.94% and a return on equity of 17.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $55,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 406,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,417. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.