QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management dramatically increased its AGNC Investment stake by 921.8% in the first quarter, ending with 570,650 shares valued at about $5.7 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on AGNC, with a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $11.25; recent updates included Piper Sandler raising its target to $12 and JPMorgan cutting its target to $11.
• AGNC reported strong earnings of $0.42 per share, topping estimates, and declared a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, implying an annualized yield of 13.1%.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 921.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 570,650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 514,804 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned 0.05% of AGNC Investment worth $5,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at $141,830,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,210,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in AGNC Investment by 19,632.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,108,188 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092,436 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in AGNC Investment by 12.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,693,449 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $155,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,097,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $312,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,244 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGNC has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AGNC Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.25.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,039,957.38. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total transaction of $713,684.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,927,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,352,079.64. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 215,234 shares of company stock worth $2,364,022 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

AGNC stock opened at $11.00 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.79. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 12-month low of $9.11 and a 12-month high of $12.19.

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

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.1%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.01%.

About AGNC Investment

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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