Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.60

Key Points

• Farmer Mac declared a $1.60 quarterly dividend, payable December 31 to shareholders of record December 15. That equates to $6.40 annually and a 3.7% yield; the company has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.
• The dividend appears well covered: the current payout ratio is 33.2%, and analysts’ forecast earnings imply a 27.6% payout ratio next year.
• In its latest quarter, earnings per share of $4.82 fell short of the $5.20 analyst consensus, while revenue of $125.25 million exceeded estimates of $121.29 million.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share by the credit services provider on Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a payout ratio of 33.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Federal Agricultural Mortgage to earn $23.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.6%.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AGM opened at $174.87 on Friday. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 1 year low of $136.57 and a 1 year high of $248.29. The firm's 50-day moving average is $208.02 and its 200-day moving average is $189.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.02.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The credit services provider reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.20 by ($0.38). Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 28.88%. The business had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.29 million. Equities analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 20.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGM. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 2.6% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.0% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 11,593 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,310,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.6% during the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 19,110 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 11.1% during the second quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,582 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.03% of the company's stock.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, known as Farmer Mac, operates a secondary market that helps provide liquidity to lenders serving U.S. agriculture and rural communities. Established by Congress under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987, the company purchases eligible loans and provides guarantees and other financing solutions to lending institutions. Farmer Mac's offerings support loans for farms and ranches, rural utilities and infrastructure, and other eligible rural borrowers. Its programs also include financing tied to USDA-guaranteed loans.

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