AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Short Interest Up 22.9% in January

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 51,530,000 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the December 31st total of 41,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut AGNC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.50.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 315.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

AGNC opened at $10.08 on Friday. AGNC Investment has a 1-year low of $8.92 and a 1-year high of $10.85. The stock has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 42.19% and a return on equity of 23.41%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a jan 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 15.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. AGNC Investment's payout ratio is currently 148.45%.

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).