Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on AGM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $217.00 to $219.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Federal Agricultural Mortgage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE AGM opened at $172.77 on Friday. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 52 week low of $155.00 and a 52 week high of $212.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.99.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The credit services provider reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $97.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.94 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 18.63%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 17.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is currently 34.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGM. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,324,000. Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1,262.0% during the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 47,508 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,980,000 after acquiring an additional 44,020 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 420,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,665,000 after acquiring an additional 43,160 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1,581.4% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 33,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,464,000 after purchasing an additional 31,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,916,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: AGM), commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Farmer Mac was established to enhance the availability of mortgage credit for the agricultural and rural utility sectors. The corporation operates as a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural infrastructure loans, providing lenders with liquidity and risk management solutions.

The company’s principal business activities include purchasing and securitizing long-term fixed-rate agricultural mortgage loans and rural utilities loans originated by approved lenders.