AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC Shares Sold by Transcend Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Transcend Capital Advisors LLC cut its AGNC stake by 30.4%, selling 160,118 shares and finishing the quarter with 366,777 shares worth about $3.93 million, while other institutions showed large, mixed activity (e.g., SG Americas bought ~3.09M shares).
• Company insiders sold a total of 775,000 shares (~$9.25M) in the last 90 days, including a 700,000-share sale by director Gary D. Kain, leaving insiders with just 0.40% ownership.
• AGNC declared a monthly dividend of $0.12 (annualized yield ~13.7%) despite a payout ratio above 100%, and analysts hold a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $10.91.

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 366,777 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 160,118 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $3,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 19,632.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,108,188 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,320,000 after buying an additional 3,092,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,693,449 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $155,383,000 after buying an additional 1,906,785 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,440,345 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $944,151,000 after buying an additional 1,591,465 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,111,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $69,623,000 after buying an additional 1,192,975 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,237,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AGNC shares. Barclays lifted their price target on AGNC Investment from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. BTIG Research cut AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JonesTrading cut AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $12.00 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total value of $303,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 491,728 shares in the company, valued at $5,969,577.92. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total value of $8,337,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,189,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,072,073.81. This represents a 24.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 775,000 shares of company stock worth $9,246,000 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AGNC Investment Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $10.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 1 year low of $8.07 and a 1 year high of $12.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.63.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 47.40%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $354.75 million. Equities analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is currently 102.86%.

About AGNC Investment

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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