Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Key Points

• Put-option trading surged: Traders bought 49,777 AGNC put options, about 40% above the stock’s typical daily volume.
• AGNC shares fell $0.28 to $8.20, near their 12-month low of $8.19, on trading volume above its average.
• Quarterly EPS of $0.37 matched analyst estimates, while revenue of $1.20 billion topped expectations; the company’s monthly dividend was $0.12 per share.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 49,777 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 40% compared to the typical daily volume of 35,478 put options.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

AGNC traded down $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $8.20. 32,958,015 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,063,578. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 820.82 and a beta of 1.40. AGNC Investment has a 12-month low of $8.19 and a 12-month high of $12.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.25 and a 200 day moving average of $10.38.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 18.74%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.6%. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is presently 14,400.00%.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In related news, CEO Peter Federico sold 67,794 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.87, for a total value of $601,332.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,846,083 shares in the company, valued at $16,374,756.21. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the second quarter valued at approximately $704,076,000. Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the second quarter valued at $106,123,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in AGNC Investment in the second quarter valued at $77,501,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 17.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,190,499 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,576,000 after acquiring an additional 763,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,182,000. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AGNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AGNC Investment from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered AGNC Investment from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.12.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp. is a mortgage real estate investment trust that focuses primarily on investing in agency residential mortgage-backed securities. These securities are backed by mortgages and carry guarantees or support from U.S. government agencies or government-sponsored enterprises. The company's portfolio includes mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations. AGNC finances its investments and uses hedging strategies to manage risks associated with interest rates and mortgage markets.

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