Traders Purchase High Volume of AGNC Investment Put Options (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Key Points

• AGNC Investment Corp. saw a significant increase in options trading, with 46,932 put options acquired, marking a 62% rise from the typical volume.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on AGNC, with ratings ranging from "buy" with a price target of $10.00 to "sell", resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $9.58.
• The company recently announced a monthly dividend of $0.12, representing a 14.9% yield, with a payout ratio of 423.53%.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 46,932 put options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseof62% compared to the average daily volume of 28,988 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AGNC shares. Jones Trading reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $9.50 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $9.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.63.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

NASDAQ AGNC traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $10.29. The company had a trading volume of 4,881,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,908,693. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.41. AGNC Investment has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $10.85.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $830.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.37 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 19.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 14.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 423.53%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, Director John D. Fisk sold 20,278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $195,682.70. Following the sale, the director owned 112,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,087,410.25. This trade represents a 15.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 11,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.61, for a total value of $105,710.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 128,511 shares in the company, valued at $1,234,990.71. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 47.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 961,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,839,000 after acquiring an additional 307,516 shares during the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 13.8% in the second quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 23,852 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 141.2% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 74,055 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 43,350 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 47.6% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 21,798 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 7,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TT Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AGNC Investment in the second quarter worth approximately $1,236,000. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).