AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) traded up 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.98 and last traded at $9.84. 22,457,752 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 0% from the average session volume of 22,541,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AGNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company 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 research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.03.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.61. The company has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 47.40%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.75 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 2,189,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,072,073.81. This represents a 24.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total value of $605,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 552,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,688,316.67. This trade represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 775,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,246,000 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,429,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,000,000 after acquiring an additional 325,104 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,311,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,840,000 after purchasing an additional 370,525 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth approximately $6,170,000. Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 19.4% during the third quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,139,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,156,000 after purchasing an additional 184,929 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in AGNC Investment by 68.2% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 370,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% 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.