Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation $AGM Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Key Points

• Empirical Finance reduced its Federal Agricultural Mortgage stake by 14.8% in the second quarter, selling 6,156 shares and retaining 35,436 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 68.03% of AGM.
• AGM shares recently traded at $225.59, down 1.0%, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $5.40 per share and revenue of $125.01 million, both exceeding analyst expectations.
• Federal Agricultural Mortgage declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, representing an annualized payout of $6.40 and a 2.8% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $255 price target.

Empirical Finance LLC lowered its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM - Free Report) by 14.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,436 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,156 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC owned 0.33% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $7,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGM. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. VELA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 6.1% during the second quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,648 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,317,000 after buying an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the second quarter valued at approximately $239,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 17,556.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,102,299 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $418,925,000 after buying an additional 2,090,392 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.0% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 11,593 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,310,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.03% of the company's stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE AGM traded down $2.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $225.59. 112,214 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 119,128. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $217.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.33. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.57 and a 1 year high of $248.29.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.87 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $125.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.51 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 29.98%. On average, equities analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation will post 20.72 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage's dividend payout ratio is 34.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AGM. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research raised Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Federal Agricultural Mortgage presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.00.

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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