Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 165,500 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the July 15th total of 153,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 53,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 194.2% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 304.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 160.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AGM traded up $2.24 on Monday, reaching $186.16. 19,260 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,986. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 1-year low of $140.44 and a 1-year high of $217.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $187.99 and a 200-day moving average of $185.52.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $406.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.77 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 company earned $3.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 16.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

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.