AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 0.1% Higher Following Earnings Beat

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) traded up 0.1% on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $9.29 and last traded at $9.21. 6,795,513 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 11,665,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.20.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 27.92% and a net margin of 32.12%. The company had revenue of $642.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a apr 24 dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AGNC shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on AGNC Investment from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Jonestrading dropped their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.85, for a total value of $98,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 287,282 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,727.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in AGNC Investment by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.45.

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).