Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management acquired 3.25 million AGNC Investment shares worth approximately $35.4 million, giving it a 0.27% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 38.28% of the mortgage REIT.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: AGNC has an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $11.11, with targets ranging from $11.00 to $12.00.
• AGNC reported quarterly EPS of $0.40, exceeding estimates by $0.02, and announced a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, representing a stated annualized yield of 13.2%.

Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,249,628 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $35,421,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of AGNC Investment at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,745,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,047,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,782 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in AGNC Investment by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 486,562 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 146,508 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 921.8% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 570,650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,724,000 after buying an additional 514,804 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in AGNC Investment by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 786,411 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,430,000 after acquiring an additional 512,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 3,855.5% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 96,949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 94,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded AGNC Investment from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.11.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AGNC opened at $10.92 on Friday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 1-year low of $9.62 and a 1-year high of $12.19. The company has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.82 and a 200-day moving average of $10.71.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 57.94%.During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts expect that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.2%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $55,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 406,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,476,417. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

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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