AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading Down 1.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• AGNC declared a monthly dividend of $0.12, implying a 13.4% yield while the payout ratio stands at about 102.9%, indicating the dividend may be unsustainably high relative to earnings.
• Analyst sentiment is muted with a MarketBeat consensus of Hold and a $11.03 target price, after several downgrades and JPMorgan trimming its price objective to $11.00.
• Insiders have been net sellers — notably a director sold 700,000 shares and insiders sold ~775,000 shares in the last quarter, while insiders own only about 0.40% of the stock.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) was down 1.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $10.61 and last traded at $10.77. Approximately 19,823,459 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 21,170,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AGNC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. BTIG Research cut shares of AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Finally, JonesTrading downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.03.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.66. 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 (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.75 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 47.40% and a return on equity of 18.32%. Equities analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.4%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is currently 102.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AGNC Investment news, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total value of $8,337,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,189,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,072,073.81. The trade was a 24.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bernice Bell sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total transaction of $303,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 491,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,969,577.92. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 775,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,246,000. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 100.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company's stock.

About AGNC Investment

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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