Short Interest in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) Declines By 11.5%

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 100,100 shares, a drop of 11.5% from the May 31st total of 113,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 44,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

NYSE:AGM traded up $1.41 on Wednesday, hitting $184.00. The stock had a trading volume of 4,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,144. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.61. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 52-week low of $137.16 and a 52-week high of $199.40.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The credit services provider reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.94 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $403.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.22 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 13.79%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 16.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is 34.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGM. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 11,372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,175,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 194.2% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 6.4% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 68.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company's Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.