AGNC Investment Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Key Points

• AGNC saw unusually heavy bearish options activity: investors purchased 95,960 put options, 231% above the typical volume of 28,986.
• The stock fell 4.0% to $9.07, near its 52-week low of $9.05. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $11.11.
• AGNC declared a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, equivalent to $1.44 annually and a 15.9% yield; the dividend is payable October 9 to shareholders of record September 30.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 95,960 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 231% compared to the typical volume of 28,986 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $55,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 406,947 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,476,417. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the second quarter valued at $175,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 713,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,777,000 after acquiring an additional 142,875 shares in the last quarter. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 254.1% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 254.4% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 60,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 43,500 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 4.0%

AGNC Investment stock opened at $9.07 on Thursday. AGNC Investment has a 52-week low of $9.05 and a 52-week high of $12.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.50 and a 200-day moving average of $10.53.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 57.94%.During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AGNC Investment will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.9%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AGNC. Weiss Ratings upgraded AGNC Investment from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Compass Point cut AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.11.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp. is an internally managed real estate investment trust that invests primarily in agency residential mortgage-backed securities. Its portfolio generally includes mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Ginnie Mae. Because these securities carry government or government-sponsored enterprise backing, the company's investment strategy focuses on interest-rate and prepayment risks rather than traditional residential credit risk.

AGNC finances its investments largely through repurchase agreements and uses interest-rate swaps, swaptions, and other hedging instruments to manage exposure to changing interest rates and funding costs.

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