AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Short Interest Down 22.1% in March

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,570,000 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the February 28th total of 59,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 21,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 5.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

AGNC stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.98. The company had a trading volume of 49,508,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,153,866. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.32. AGNC Investment has a fifty-two week low of $8.91 and a fifty-two week high of $10.85.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

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AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 14.1%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on AGNC shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of AGNC Investment to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded AGNC Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.50.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of AGNC Investment 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,781.90. The trade was a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AGNC Investment by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,316,872 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $767,348,000 after purchasing an additional 10,316,999 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,614,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $134,645,000 after buying an additional 2,311,105 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,269,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in AGNC Investment by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,662,954 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $80,392,000 after acquiring an additional 424,990 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,349,657 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $67,690,000 after acquiring an additional 581,352 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).