AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.68 and last traded at $11.6550, with a volume of 5293685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays raised their target price on AGNC Investment from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.41.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.59 and a 200-day moving average of $10.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 1.36.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $836.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.39 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 24.40%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 214.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 45,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.27, for a total transaction of $470,345.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,557,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,994,508.27. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 44,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 154,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 132,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 81.8% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 109,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 49,490 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.