AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Up 0.8% After Dividend Announcement

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.8% on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $10.29 and last traded at $10.27. 6,028,772 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 19,000,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.18.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 13.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is currently 148.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.50.

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AGNC Investment Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average is $9.66 and its 200-day moving average is $9.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,781.90. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 372,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. This represents a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in AGNC Investment by 112.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).