Howard Financial Services LTD. Reduces Stock Position in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Howard Financial Services LTD. lowered its holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 68.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 39,078 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $111,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,867 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in AGNC Investment by 5.6% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 36,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 1,916 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $115,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $365,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

AGNC stock opened at $10.31 on Wednesday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 1 year low of $6.81 and a 1 year high of $10.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.88.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.01). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 26.21%. The company had revenue of $695.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is currently 158.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Maxim Group cut AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.97, for a total value of $49,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 308,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,072,574.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).