AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Stock Price Up 0.9% - Here's Why

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.73 and last traded at $8.69. 6,100,184 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 18,898,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AGNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $8.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded AGNC Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.11.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 1.9 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.56 and a 200-day moving average of $9.66. The company has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $846.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.71 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a apr 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 17.7%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 360.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. This trade represents a 3.37 % 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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,059 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

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).