AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Stock Price Up 0.1% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $9.29 and last traded at $9.21. Approximately 6,795,513 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 11,665,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.20.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 28.02%. The firm had revenue of $642.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.38 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a apr 24 dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14,414.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.25 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Jonestrading decreased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 10,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.85, for a total transaction of $98,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 287,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,829,727.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,366,808 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $621,628,000 after purchasing an additional 6,019,268 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,015,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,355,000 after purchasing an additional 332,709 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 7,380,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,404,000 after purchasing an additional 79,316 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,215,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 6,343,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,887,000 after purchasing an additional 230,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 937.94 and a beta of 1.45.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp., formerly American Capital Agency Corp., is a real estate investment trust. The Company invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. Its investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by the United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs).