AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 1.9% Higher - Should You Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.45 and last traded at $9.45. 4,833,258 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 14,111,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised AGNC Investment from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com downgraded AGNC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.44.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 1.9 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.95.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $756.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.50 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 42.19%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dec 24 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 15.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).