Piper Sandler Cuts AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Price Target to $10.50

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) had its price objective decreased by Piper Sandler from $12.50 to $10.50 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JonesTrading downgraded AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.91.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of AGNC opened at $10.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.38. AGNC Investment has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $12.19. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 47.40%.The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.75 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.86%.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In related news, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 2,189,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,072,073.81. This trade represents a 24.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 775,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,246,000 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $141,830,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,210,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 19,632.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,108,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,320,000 after buying an additional 3,092,436 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,693,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $155,383,000 after buying an additional 1,906,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,097,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $312,275,000 after buying an additional 1,596,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.