AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Up 0.7% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) were up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $9.61 and last traded at $9.60. Approximately 2,554,368 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 11,710,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.53.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AGNC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on AGNC Investment from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Compass Point began coverage on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.25 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.79.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 1.45.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 27.92% and a net margin of 32.12%. The firm had revenue of $642.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.38 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 5,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 111,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,051,173.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AGNC Investment news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.35, for a total value of $46,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 75,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,345.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total value of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 111,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,051,173.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $149,030 in the last ninety days. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in AGNC Investment by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 12.3% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 11,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 52,215 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 59,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp., formerly American Capital Agency Corp., is a real estate investment trust. The Company invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. Its investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by the United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs).