Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Stake in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 364,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,176 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $3,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,316,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $767,348,000 after purchasing an additional 10,316,999 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter worth $87,269,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 821.0% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,464,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,332,000 after purchasing an additional 4,871,584 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,840,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,349,657 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,690,000 after purchasing an additional 581,352 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AGNC opened at $8.44 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.88 and a 200-day moving average of $9.77. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $10.85.

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

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a apr 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 17.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $50,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 75,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).