Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) Short Interest Up 7.5% in November

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 167,000 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the October 31st total of 155,400 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 45,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Price Performance

AGM stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $212.49. 35,612 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,634. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $194.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.92. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 52 week low of $165.50 and a 52 week high of $217.60.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.14 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $411.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.15 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 20.14%. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.13 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 15.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage's payout ratio is currently 36.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insider Transactions at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other news, Director Sara Louise Faivre-Davis sold 685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $126,416.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $595,173.75. The trade was a 17.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen P. Mullery sold 2,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.28, for a total transaction of $450,596.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,018,362.60. The trade was a 10.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,467 shares of company stock worth $1,455,622 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGM. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the third quarter worth about $175,610,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 25.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 178,008 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,187,000 after purchasing an additional 36,380 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 319,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $59,911,000 after purchasing an additional 29,917 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,949,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.0% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 226,983 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $42,539,000 after buying an additional 20,603 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.03% of the company's stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company's Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.