AGNC Investment Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 61,454 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 68% compared to the average daily volume of 36,588 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.50.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. This trade represents a 3.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at $766,781.90. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,059 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 1.1 %

AGNC Investment stock opened at $10.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. AGNC Investment has a 52 week low of $8.92 and a 52 week high of $10.85. The company has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.92.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.45%.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

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).