Ruffer LLP Lowers Stake in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP significantly reduced its ownership of AGNC Investment Corp., lowering its stake by 73.7% after selling 4,714,245 shares in the first quarter.
• AGNC Investment recently reported earnings of $0.38 EPS, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $0.42.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.12 per share, with an impressive dividend yield of 1,520.0%.

Ruffer LLP decreased its position in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 73.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,685,570 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,714,245 shares during the quarter. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.18% of AGNC Investment worth $16,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AGNC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 326.3% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AGNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $8.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.58.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of AGNC stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.45. The company had a trading volume of 10,810,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,944,152. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.28. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $10.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79 and a beta of 1.28.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $830.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.37 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 19.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a jul 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1,520.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 423.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.61, for a total value of $105,710.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 128,511 shares in the company, valued at $1,234,990.71. This represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Fisk sold 20,278 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $195,682.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 112,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,087,410.25. This trade represents a 15.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp., formerly American Capital Agency Corp., is a real estate investment trust. The Company invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. Its investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by the United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs).