AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Up 0.7% – Should You Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares shot up 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $10.02 and last traded at $10.02. 3,699,136 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 19,240,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGNC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 19th. Argus raised shares of AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.88. The firm has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.48.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a jan 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 15.5%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.46%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In related news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in AGNC Investment during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 315.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

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).