AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.95 and last traded at $10.9750, with a volume of 13978124 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AGNC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.39.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.96. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 1.36.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $836.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. On average, 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 company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 214.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 20,784 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 7.2% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 218,805 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Group INC SD boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 5.3% in the third quarter. Compass Financial Group INC SD now owns 21,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 2.4% in the third quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 48,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.