Townsquare Capital LLC Has $5.63 Million Holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in AGNC Investment Corp. by 227.5%, owning approximately 0.06% of the company worth $5.6 million after acquiring an additional 408,182 shares.
• The company recently announced a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, with an annualized yield of 15.2%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at an unusually high 423.53%.
• AGNC Investment's stock has seen price targets adjusted by various analysts, with the consensus target now set at $9.58, and a current average rating of "Hold."

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 227.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 587,625 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 408,182 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of AGNC Investment worth $5,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 85,779,209 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $821,765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,462,337 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 16,996,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $162,828,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589,020 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 7,395,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,845,000 after acquiring an additional 562,700 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,378,470 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $58,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $39,840,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 11,000 shares of the firm'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 owned 128,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,234,990.71. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John D. Fisk sold 20,278 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $195,682.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 112,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,087,410.25. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AGNC traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $9.61. The stock had a trading volume of 6,179,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,663,793. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 12-month low of $7.85 and a 12-month high of $10.85. The firm has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 1.28.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $830.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.0%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 423.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded AGNC Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $8.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jones Trading reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $9.50 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on AGNC Investment from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.58.

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).