AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Short Interest Up 22.9% in January

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 51,530,000 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the December 31st total of 41,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 18,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Paragon Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 3.6% during the third quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 30,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 18,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 10.0% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 52.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $9.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.53 and a 200-day moving average of $9.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.47. AGNC Investment has a 52 week low of $8.92 and a 52 week high of $10.85.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. Analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a jan 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 15.5%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AGNC Investment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.50.

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).