AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,340,000 shares, a decline of 6.4% from the May 31st total of 49,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $9.66 on Wednesday. AGNC Investment has a 52 week low of $6.81 and a 52 week high of $10.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 32.12% and a return on equity of 27.14%. The business had revenue of $642.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a jun 24 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 14.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is 158.24%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.32, for a total transaction of $32,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 309,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,888,948.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.35, for a total value of $46,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 75,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,345.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.32, for a total value of $32,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 309,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,888,948.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $149,030 in the last quarter. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,593,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in AGNC Investment by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 451,460 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,262,000 after acquiring an additional 146,406 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth $69,215,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in AGNC Investment by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 26,238 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in AGNC Investment by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 512,676 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,901,000 after purchasing an additional 123,399 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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).