Kestra Advisory Services LLC Raises Position in AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its AGNC Investment stake by 66.2% in the first quarter, ending with 299,678 shares worth about $3.0 million.
• Analysts are largely cautious on AGNC: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $11.33, though several firms recently nudged targets higher.
• AGNC announced a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, implying an annualized yield of 12.8%, even as insiders have been selling shares in recent months.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 66.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 299,678 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 119,363 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $3,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment in the first quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 9.7% during the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 155,571 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 13,722 shares in the last quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 17.2% during the first quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 39,508 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the first quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 514,804 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AGNC shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $11.50 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Compass Point downgraded AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.33.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 1.8%

AGNC stock opened at $11.22 on Friday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a twelve month low of $9.11 and a twelve month high of $12.19. The company has a market capitalization of $12.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.82.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 39.50% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The firm had revenue of ($114.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $411.57 million. On average, research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. AGNC Investment's payout ratio is presently 119.01%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In related news, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 $1,039,957.38. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were 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 directly owned 1,927,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,352,079.64. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 215,234 shares of company stock worth $2,364,022. Company 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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