AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Down 0.5% - Here's Why

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $9.38 and last traded at $9.54. Approximately 8,919,174 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 16,699,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.90. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.32.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. Equities research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In related news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 75,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the firm's 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 owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,737,149.04. This trade represents a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,316,872 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $767,348,000 after acquiring an additional 10,316,999 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 18.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $87,269,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,662,954 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $80,392,000 after acquiring an additional 424,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 8.6% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 581,352 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).