AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AGNC Investment shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to $8.62 during trading and last changing hands at $8.65, down from a previous close of $8.79.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $11.11, despite several target-price increases and one ratings upgrade.
• AGNC declared a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, equivalent to $1.44 annually and a 16.6% yield; the company’s latest quarterly earnings of $0.40 per share exceeded estimates.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $8.62 and last traded at $8.65, with a volume of 43212449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AGNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Compass Point cut shares of 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.11.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.49. The firm has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.36.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 57.94% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The company had revenue of $305.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given 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 16.6%. AGNC Investment's payout ratio is 75.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $4,476,417. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in AGNC Investment by 10.4% during the third quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,324 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 4,285 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 407.3% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 5,690 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 11.8% during the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 108,379 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 11,430 shares in the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth about $175,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 142,875 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company's stock.

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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