AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 1.5% Higher

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares were up 1.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $9.97 and last traded at $9.93. Approximately 5,064,249 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 12,524,130 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading lowered their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Maxim Group cut AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.00.

AGNC Investment Stock Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $695.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.29 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 26.78%. AGNC Investment’s quarterly revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a jul 24 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 13.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).