Norges Bank Buys Shares of 13,230,430 AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Key Points

• Norges Bank bought a new stake in AGNC Investment Corp., purchasing 13,230,430 shares valued at about $141.8 million in the fourth quarter and ending with roughly 1.23% ownership of the company.
• AGNC recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.42 per share, topping analyst estimates of $0.36, while also announcing a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share that implies a 14.2% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with an average target price of $11.06, even as some firms kept Buy/Overweight views and others trimmed their price targets.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,230,430 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $141,830,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.23% of AGNC Investment at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,429,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,000,000 after acquiring an additional 325,104 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,311,549 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,840,000 after acquiring an additional 370,525 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 370,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,623,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,139,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,156,000 after acquiring an additional 184,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AGNC Investment by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,745,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,047,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,782 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on AGNC Investment from $12.50 to $10.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.06.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AGNC opened at $10.17 on Thursday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 12 month low of $8.93 and a 12 month high of $12.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.77. The firm has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40 and a beta of 1.32.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 39.50%.The firm had revenue of ($114.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $411.57 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In related news, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 96,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,039,957.38. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total value of $713,684.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,927,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,352,079.64. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 215,234 shares of company stock valued at $2,364,022. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

AGNC Investment 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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