Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Stock Dropped to Hold by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Federal Agricultural Mortgage from “strong buy” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “hold,” with an average price target of $255.
• AGM shares opened at $207.58, down 2.2%, after trading between $136.57 and $248.29 over the past year.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.40 in earnings per share versus the $4.87 consensus estimate and revenue of $125.01 million versus $113.51 million expected.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a report on Friday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $255.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE AGM opened at $207.58 on Tuesday. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 12-month low of $136.57 and a 12-month high of $248.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50-day moving average is $223.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.48.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.87 by $0.53. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 18.90%. The business had revenue of $125.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.51 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 20.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AGM. Huntington Bancshares Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,340,508,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 3.1% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 327,881 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $65,337,000 after buying an additional 9,809 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 12.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 351,330 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $52,123,000 after buying an additional 39,702 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 112,424 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $19,738,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 55.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,341 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $14,292,000 after buying an additional 34,375 shares during the period. 68.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a federally chartered corporation that provides a secondary market for agricultural and rural infrastructure loans. Its activities help agricultural lenders obtain funding and liquidity, supporting the availability of credit for farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners and rural businesses across the United States.

Farmer Mac purchases eligible loans and provides loan guarantees, securitization and other financing solutions through its business segments.

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