AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Down 2.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) dropped 2.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $9.34 and last traded at $9.38. Approximately 6,285,880 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 13,679,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point lifted their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised AGNC Investment from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Maxim Group cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.33.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.04). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 26.21%. The company had revenue of $756.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a oct 24 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.97, for a total transaction of $49,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 308,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,072,574.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth $31,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 52.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in AGNC Investment by 315.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

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).