Short Interest in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) Increases By 17.8%

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 352,399 shares, a growth of 17.8% from the February 26th total of 299,122 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 96,295 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Up 2.7%

AGM stock traded up $3.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $148.23. 98,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,462. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 1-year low of $136.57 and a 1-year high of $210.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.38.

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

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 26,616 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,673,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.5% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,877 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,473,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 1,338 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.