Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 78,253 Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,752,044 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 78,253 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.29% of AGNC Investment worth $16,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 49.4% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,025 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 128.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,580 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares during the period. 38.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

AGNC stock opened at $9.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 935.94 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $9.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.35. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 52-week low of $6.81 and a 52-week high of $11.96.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $640.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.42 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 28.65% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a feb 24 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is presently 14,414.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Wednesday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised AGNC Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $8.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.85, for a total transaction of $98,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 287,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,829,727.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).

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