AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded AGNC from "sell" to "hold," amid a mixed analyst backdrop that leaves the consensus rating at Hold with an average price target of $11.06.
• AGNC beat expectations for the quarter, reporting EPS of $0.42 versus $0.36 expected and revenue of $1.05 billion (versus $411.6M expected), with a 39.5% net margin and 18.6% ROE.
• Insiders sold 775,000 shares (~$9.25M) over the last quarter, leaving insiders with about 0.40% ownership, while institutional investors own 38.28% of the stock.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AGNC. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $12.00 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.50 to $10.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.06.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $11.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. AGNC Investment has a one year low of $8.61 and a one year high of $12.19. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $10.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 1.38.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 39.50% and a return on equity of 18.63%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $411.57 million. Equities analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total value of $303,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 491,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,969,577.92. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total value of $605,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 552,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,688,316.67. This trade represents a 8.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 775,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,246,000 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,830,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,210,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 19,632.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,108,188 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 12.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,693,449 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $155,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906,785 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,097,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $312,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

AGNC Investment Corp. is a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily acquires and manages a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The company employs a leveraged total return strategy, borrowing against its securities to enhance income potential while using interest rate hedges to manage risk. AGNC's investment objective is to generate attractive monthly dividends and long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, AGNC focuses exclusively on U.S.

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