AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 57.94%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of AGNC Investment stock opened at $10.78 on Wednesday. AGNC Investment has a 52 week low of $9.11 and a 52 week high of $12.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.82. The company has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.31.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.4%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 75.79%.

AGNC Investment News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AGNC Investment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AGNC posted Q2 EPS of $0.40, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 and improving from $0.38 a year ago; the company also reported stronger return on equity and book value trends. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s earnings call and presentation emphasized strong returns and portfolio growth, which may support the view that AGNC is executing well operationally despite a tougher rate environment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage focused on AGNC as a high-yield dividend stock, reinforcing investor interest in the REIT’s income stream rather than a major new catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, the stock fell as revenue missed expectations and investors reacted to higher funding costs and rising prepayments, both of which can pressure mortgage REIT profitability. Article Title

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In related news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total value of $713,684.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,927,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,352,079.64. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,039,957.38. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 215,234 shares of company stock worth $2,364,022. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,245,939 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $197,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,374 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in AGNC Investment by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,491,585 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,468 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 6,861,679 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,557,000 after buying an additional 592,550 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,756,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,143,000 after buying an additional 128,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,171,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,716,000 after buying an additional 261,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AGNC shares. Compass Point cut AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.33.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

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.