Short Interest in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Grows By 10.7%

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 50,470,000 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the October 15th total of 45,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the third quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 52.2% in the 2nd 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. grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 315.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AGNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Maxim Group lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued 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 Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AGNC traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.58. The company had a trading volume of 16,035,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,090,275. AGNC Investment has a 1 year low of $8.57 and a 1 year high of $10.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.09 and a 200 day moving average of $9.95. The company has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 1.47.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 42.19%. The firm had revenue of $756.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AGNC Investment will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a nov 24 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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).