AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Up 1.2% - Here's Why

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $9.27 and last traded at $9.24. Approximately 6,164,474 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 14,255,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AGNC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.44.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

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 $9.58 and a 200-day moving average of $9.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.47.

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

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted 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 buying an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 315.9% in 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 in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is 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).