AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Down 2% – Here’s What Happened

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) dropped 2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $9.54 and last traded at $9.57. Approximately 9,647,835 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 16,452,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AGNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 1.50. 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 data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. Analysts expect that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at $766,781.90. This trade 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 through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. This represents a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,059 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Company 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).