AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) were up 1.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.04 and last traded at $8.95. Approximately 7,420,660 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 19,081,483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AGNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $8.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jones Trading dropped their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $9.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.11.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The business had revenue of $846.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a apr 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 17.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 360.00%.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGNC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in AGNC Investment by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,059 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp., formerly American Capital Agency Corp., is a real estate investment trust. The Company invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. Its investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by the United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs).