Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 998,501 AGNC Investment shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $10.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 38.28% of AGNC.
• AGNC shares opened at $10.73, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $11.11. Recent ratings included both upgrades and price-target increases, as well as several downgrades to neutral.
• AGNC reported quarterly earnings of $0.40 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.38, and announced a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, representing an annualized yield of approximately 13.4%.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 998,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $10,884,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.08% of AGNC Investment as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment in the second quarter valued at $704,076,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,097,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $312,275,000 after buying an additional 1,596,244 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,245,939 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $197,774,000 after buying an additional 1,090,374 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,830,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $106,123,000. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AGNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $11.50 price target (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Compass Point lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.11.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AGNC opened at $10.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.32. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 12-month low of $9.62 and a 12-month high of $12.19. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $10.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.69.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 57.94% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The firm had revenue of $305.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.4%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.79%.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In related news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total value of $55,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 406,947 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,476,417. The trade was a 1.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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