AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)’s share price fell 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $9.17 and last traded at $9.29. 15,315,102 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 17,898,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AGNC. StockNews.com lowered AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AGNC Investment from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.44.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.51 and a 200-day moving average of $9.91.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $756.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $219.50 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 42.19%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a jan 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 15.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Graypoint LLC acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in AGNC Investment by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 59,963 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 3,899 shares during the period. Weaver Consulting Group grew its position in AGNC Investment by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 15,218 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 4,721 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $427,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $310,000. 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).