AGNC Investment Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 69,745 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 153% compared to the typical volume of 27,515 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGNC shares. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of AGNC Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.33.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AGNC traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $10.15. 15,789,336 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,015,644. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $10.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.88. AGNC Investment has a one year low of $6.81 and a one year high of $10.85. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 1.47.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.01). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 26.21%. The company had revenue of $695.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. AGNC Investment's revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. AGNC Investment's payout ratio is 158.24%.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.07, for a total transaction of $50,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 298,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,002,692.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in AGNC Investment by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,712 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,847 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.9% during the second quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 26,815 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 52.2% during the second 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. 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).