Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 149,017 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 180% from the previous session's volume of 53,257 shares.The stock last traded at $189.03 and had previously closed at $184.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $183.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.54.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The credit services provider reported $4.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $96.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.33 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 12.65%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation will post 17.6 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage's payout ratio is 37.08%.

Insider Activity at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In related news, Director Eric T. Mckissack sold 728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.37, for a total transaction of $140,045.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,416.09. This represents a 23.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sara Louise Faivre-Davis sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.26, for a total value of $67,291.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $336,647.26. This represents a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1,589.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 356,001 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $70,114,000 after acquiring an additional 334,928 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 4th quarter worth $28,914,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 255,198 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $50,261,000 after purchasing an additional 28,215 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 1st quarter worth $4,667,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 11.0% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 244,550 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $45,856,000 after purchasing an additional 24,289 shares in the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company's Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.