AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Earns “Market Perform” Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $12.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $11.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 5.26% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on AGNC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. BTIG Research lowered AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.03.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 4.8%

NASDAQ AGNC opened at $11.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. AGNC Investment has a 52 week low of $7.85 and a 52 week high of $12.19.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 47.40%.The firm had revenue of $995.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.75 million. Equities research analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In related news, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total transaction 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 $26,072,073.81. This represents a 24.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total transaction of $605,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 552,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,688,316.67. This trade represents a 8.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 775,000 shares of company stock worth $9,246,000 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

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

Key Stories Impacting AGNC Investment

Here are the key news stories impacting AGNC Investment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler maintained an Overweight rating on AGNC, citing narrowing agency MBS spreads that should help margins and positioning. Piper Sandler Overweight Note
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option activity: traders bought ~169,176 call options (≈327% above average), signalling heightened bullish/speculative interest that can support near-term upward momentum. Traders Buy High Volume of Calls
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” (formerly labelled “moderate buy” in some notes) and set a $12 price target, implying modest upside from current levels; mixed signal versus other research. KBW Market Perform / $12 PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in the recent release appears anomalous/zeroed (likely a data issue); no clear short squeeze signal can be derived from that report.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares on Jan. 28 at an average $12.11, reducing his stake by ~8.3% — significant insider selling can weigh on sentiment. SEC Form 4 – Pollack
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Bernice Bell sold 25,000 shares on Jan. 28 at an average $12.14, a ~4.8% reduction in her holdings — further insider liquidity. SEC Form 4 – Bell
• Negative Sentiment: Director Gary D. Kain sold a large block of 700,000 shares on Jan. 29 at an average $11.91, cutting his stake by ~24.2% — the size of this sale is material and likely a leading driver of downward pressure today. SEC Form 4 – Kain
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods issued a downgrade from “moderate buy” to “hold” (reported 1/30), which reduces buy-side analyst support and may amplify selling pressure. KBW Downgrade Report

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.