AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 17.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,190,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 763,109 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $56,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AGNC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,745,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,047,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,782 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 486,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 146,508 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AGNC Investment in the second quarter valued at $704,076,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 921.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 570,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,724,000 after purchasing an additional 514,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 786,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,430,000 after purchasing an additional 512,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $10.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.69. The stock has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.32. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 1 year low of $9.62 and a 1 year high of $12.19.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 57.94%.The business had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Compass Point lowered AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AGNC Investment news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $55,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 406,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,417. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About AGNC Investment

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.