AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Stock Price Up 1.8% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $10.19 and last traded at $10.22. Approximately 5,061,734 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 15,943,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.04.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AGNC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.93.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 75,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,781.90. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,737,149.04. This trade represents a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

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

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).