AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Up 1.7% - Should You Buy?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) traded up 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.99 and last traded at $8.98. 10,087,875 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 21,007,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $8.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AGNC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.75.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 0.9%

The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day moving average is $8.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $846.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $436.71 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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 may 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 16.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 360.00%.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, Director Donna Blank sold 17,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.67, for a total transaction of $149,280.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 90,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $783,291.15. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 48,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.70, for a total value of $420,497.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,691,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,715,362.70. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,384 shares of company stock worth $1,228,039 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 112.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 326.3% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

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).