Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 19,217 Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation $AGM

Key Points

• Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 85.9% in the first quarter, buying 19,217 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 41,592 shares worth about $6.17 million.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on AGM, with the stock carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $228.00 after recent rating and target updates.
• Operational results and shareholder returns were solid: the company beat quarterly EPS estimates, and it recently paid a $1.60 quarterly dividend, equal to a 3.1% annualized yield.

Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM - Free Report) by 85.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,592 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,217 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC owned about 0.38% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $6,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 48.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,469 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,004,000 after buying an additional 13,142 shares during the last quarter. Militia Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 1st quarter worth about $1,187,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 124.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 35,662 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,290,000 after acquiring an additional 19,738 shares during the last quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. grew its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 27,076 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,017,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,414 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,962,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $215.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of AGM opened at $209.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation has a 12-month low of $136.57 and a 12-month high of $210.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $189.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.68.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.30. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 20.78%.The firm had revenue of $109.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.76 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation will post 19.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.82%.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation NYSE: AGM, commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Farmer Mac was established to enhance the availability of mortgage credit for the agricultural and rural utility sectors. The corporation operates as a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural infrastructure loans, providing lenders with liquidity and risk management solutions.

The company's principal business activities include purchasing and securitizing long-term fixed-rate agricultural mortgage loans and rural utilities loans originated by approved lenders.

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