AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC Position Trimmed by Balefire LLC

Balefire LLC reduced its holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 39.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 216,468 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 142,083 shares during the quarter. Balefire LLC’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $2,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AGNC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,745,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,047,828,000 after buying an additional 1,304,782 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 486,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,216,000 after buying an additional 146,508 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in 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 valued at $14,000,000 after acquiring an additional 325,104 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its position in AGNC Investment by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,355,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,527,000 after acquiring an additional 215,586 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 786,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,430,000 after acquiring an additional 512,574 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $11.22 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.82. AGNC Investment Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $9.11 and a fifty-two week high of $12.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.31.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of ($114.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $411.57 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 39.50% and a return on equity of 18.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 119.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGNC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Compass Point lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.33.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,039,957.38. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total value of $713,684.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,927,083 shares in the company, valued at $21,352,079.64. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 215,234 shares of company stock valued at $2,364,022. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.