AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Down 2.2% - Here's Why

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $9.24 and last traded at $9.27. 10,437,170 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 16,850,893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AGNC shares. 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 note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised AGNC Investment to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised AGNC Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.11 and a 200 day moving average of $9.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.32.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. Equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in AGNC Investment by 7.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 197,489 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,066,000 after buying an additional 13,578 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 103,556 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in AGNC Investment by 63.3% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 124,713 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 48,331 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 52,440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 3rd quarter worth about $266,000. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).