Guidance Capital Inc. Increases Holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,106 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,829 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 52,215 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 59,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 17,089 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGNC. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. Jonestrading dropped their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.88.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AGNC traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.54. 11,695,101 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,975,826. The company has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. AGNC Investment Corp. has a one year low of $6.81 and a one year high of $10.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.62 and a 200 day moving average of $9.64.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $642.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.38 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 27.14% and a net margin of 32.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a jun 24 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 14.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.24%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.35, for a total value of $46,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 75,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,345.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AGNC Investment news, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 5,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 111,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,051,173.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.35, for a total value of $46,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 75,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,345.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $149,030 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Profile

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).