AGNC Investment Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 40,205 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 13% compared to the typical daily volume of 35,622 call options.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $10.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.76. AGNC Investment has a 52 week low of $8.80 and a 52 week high of $12.19. The firm has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 1.35.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 39.50% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The business had revenue of ($114.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $411.57 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is currently 119.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 104,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.0% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 20,784 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.4% in the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 23,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 11,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in AGNC Investment by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AGNC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.06.

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.