Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 47,774 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 64% compared to the average daily volume of 29,153 call options.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $10.86 on Wednesday. AGNC Investment has a fifty-two week low of $9.11 and a fifty-two week high of $12.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 1.32.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.06. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 39.50% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The company had revenue of ($114.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $411.57 million. On average, research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.3%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total value of $713,684.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,927,083 shares in the company, valued at $21,352,079.64. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 96,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,039,957.38. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 215,234 shares of company stock valued at $2,364,022. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LFG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. LFG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 299,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 25,777 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 132.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,281,000 after buying an additional 72,831 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in AGNC Investment by 41.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 97,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 28,531 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 58.3% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 392,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 144,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 4.7% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 486,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,879,000 after acquiring an additional 21,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

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.