AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Up 1.2% - Time to Buy?

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) shot up 1.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.25 and last traded at $9.23. 5,861,544 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 21,284,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGNC shares. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AGNC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $9.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.75.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $8.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.47.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The business had revenue of $846.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $436.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a jun 25 dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. AGNC Investment's payout ratio is presently 360.00%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Donna Blank sold 17,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.67, for a total value of $149,280.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 90,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,291.15. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bernice Bell sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.88, for a total transaction of $71,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 374,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,321,288.72. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,384 shares of company stock worth $1,228,039. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,349,657 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $67,690,000 after acquiring an additional 581,352 shares during the period. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $639,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 33,854 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,113 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 54,049 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 408,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,758,000 after acquiring an additional 37,150 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AGNC Investment

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).