Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Stock Price

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) had its price target upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $205.00 to $230.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGM opened at $206.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a twelve month low of $169.17 and a twelve month high of $217.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.75.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.46. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 20.14% and a net margin of 12.59%. The firm had revenue of $101.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.81 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Bradford T. Nordholm sold 5,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.37, for a total value of $1,082,426.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,104 shares in the company, valued at $8,770,360.48. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,716 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,813,000 after buying an additional 15,140 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1,589.4% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 356,001 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,114,000 after acquiring an additional 334,928 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 333,975 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $65,777,000 after acquiring an additional 14,274 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 297,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $58,654,000 after acquiring an additional 7,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 255,198 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,261,000 after acquiring an additional 28,215 shares in the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company’s Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.