Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Earns Market Perform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their market perform rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $215.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $230.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE:AGM opened at $190.52 on Monday. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 12-month low of $159.64 and a 12-month high of $217.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.14.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The credit services provider reported $4.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.33 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 19.43% and a net margin of 12.75%. Equities research analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 17.6 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is presently 37.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other news, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.21, for a total value of $513,025.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,773,835.24. The trade was a 22.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Aparna Ramesh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $201,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,242 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,590.12. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 116.1% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the first quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter worth $100,000. Institutional investors own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

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.