Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 397.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 816,904 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 652,799 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.12% of AGNC Investment worth $8,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AGNC. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter worth $38,593,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 85.6% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 7,301,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $68,924,000 after buying an additional 3,367,112 shares during the period. Dupree Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,370,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,648,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 1,401.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,112,977 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,856 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AGNC. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.25 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AGNC Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.79.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of AGNC traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.53. 7,795,354 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,816,705. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 1.45. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 52-week low of $6.81 and a 52-week high of $10.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.30.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 32.12% and a return on equity of 27.92%. The company had revenue of $642.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a may 24 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is currently 158.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.32, for a total transaction of $32,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 309,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,888,948.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.32, for a total value of $32,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 309,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,888,948.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 5,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 111,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,051,173.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $149,030 over the last ninety days. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AGNC Investment Company 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).