US Bancorp DE Lowers Stake in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE has reduced its stake in AGNC Investment Corp. by 44.9%, owning 182,581 shares valued at approximately $1.75 million as reported in its latest SEC filing.
• AGNC Investment Corp. recently announced a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, with a substantial annualized dividend yield of 15.2%.
• Despite strong revenue of $830 million for the quarter, AGNC missed earnings expectations, reporting $0.38 EPS, below the consensus estimate of $0.42.

US Bancorp DE trimmed its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 44.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 148,539 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $1,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter worth $4,128,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the first quarter valued at about $131,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 9.2% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 37,294 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 21.1% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,318,354 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,370,000 after purchasing an additional 752,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in AGNC Investment in the first quarter worth about $151,000. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AGNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $8.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jones Trading reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $9.50 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.58.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

AGNC traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.45. 10,825,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,970,722. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $9.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $10.85.

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

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid 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 15.2%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 423.53%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In related news, Director John D. Fisk sold 20,278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $195,682.70. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.61, for a total transaction of $105,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 128,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,234,990.71. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

AGNC Investment Profile

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).