Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,325 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter worth $237,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,626 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 70,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $13,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $332,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 255,198 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $50,261,000 after purchasing an additional 28,215 shares in the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE AGM traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $192.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,091. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a 52 week low of $159.64 and a 52 week high of $217.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $181.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.41.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The credit services provider reported $4.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.33 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 19.43% and a net margin of 12.75%. Research analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Transactions at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, CFO Aparna Ramesh sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $201,860.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,242 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,590.12. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sara Louise Faivre-Davis sold 350 shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.26, for a total value of $67,291.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $336,647.26. This trade represents a 16.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,850 shares of company stock worth $782,176 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company's Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.