Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 169,176 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 327% compared to the typical daily volume of 39,663 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Red Tortoise LLC grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 377.4% in the 2nd quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 2,764 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,185 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 1,003.0% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,629 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $11.97 on Friday. AGNC Investment has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $12.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.25.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 47.40% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The firm had revenue of $995.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.75 million. As a group, analysts forecast that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.0%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AGNC shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. 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. Jones Trading downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BTIG Research lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.03.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

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.