Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 47,333 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 47% compared to the typical volume of 32,166 call options.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of AGNC Investment stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.71. 10,009,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,731,139. The company has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.36. AGNC Investment has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $10.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.83.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $836.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.39 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 24.40%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 214.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $9.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.32.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In related news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 45,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.27, for a total value of $470,345.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,557,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,508.27. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 60.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 248,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after buying an additional 93,965 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 6.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 19,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 94.3% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 45,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 22,305 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners increased its holdings in AGNC Investment by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 79,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 7,814 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,680,000. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

AGNC Investment Corp. is a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily acquires and manages a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The company employs a leveraged total return strategy, borrowing against its securities to enhance income potential while using interest rate hedges to manage risk. AGNC’s investment objective is to generate attractive monthly dividends and long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, AGNC focuses exclusively on U.S.