AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 2.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)’s share price shot up 2.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.93 and last traded at $10.84. 17,990,961 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 18,890,174 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AGNC. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.11.

AGNC Investment Stock Up 2.2%

The firm has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.69 and a 200 day moving average of $10.78.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $305.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 57.94% and a return on equity of 17.96%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is currently 75.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 406,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,417. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth approximately $704,076,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $141,830,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter worth $106,123,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter worth $40,182,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth $33,210,000. 38.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.