AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC sharply reduced its AGNC Investment stake in Q1, selling 2.32 million shares and cutting its holdings by 74.8% to 783,680 shares worth about $7.86 million.
• AGNC Investment reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.42 per share, beating estimates, and also announced a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share payable July 10, implying a 13.2% annualized yield.
• Despite the dividend and earnings beat, sentiment remains mixed: analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average, and insiders have been selling shares in recent months.

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 74.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 783,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,324,508 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.07% of AGNC Investment worth $7,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 51.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 64,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 21,897 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,941 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 6,923 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,811,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,937,000 after buying an additional 387,524 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 57.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 37,642 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 13,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 8.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,494,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,925,000 after acquiring an additional 203,610 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $10.90 on Friday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $9.08 and a fifty-two week high of $12.19. The stock's fifty day moving average is $10.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.32.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of ($114.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $411.57 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 39.50% and a return on equity of 18.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.2%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AGNC Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total value of $713,684.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,927,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,352,079.64. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 96,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,039,957.38. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 215,234 shares of company stock worth $2,364,022 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

AGNC Investment 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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