AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 0.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.62 and last traded at $10.58. 6,011,965 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 18,810,559 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AGNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a feb 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 13.8%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at $766,781.90. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in AGNC Investment by 112.7% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 315.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 2,966 shares during the period. 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).