Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• AGM shares fell sharply, opening at $183.42 versus a prior close of $197.97 and last trading around $181.81.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but consensus remains Hold; the average price target is $255, with one Buy and two Hold ratings reported.
• Quarterly EPS of $4.82 missed the $5.20 consensus estimate, although revenue of $125.25 million topped forecasts. The company’s quarterly dividend was $1.60 per share, equivalent to a 3.5% annualized yield.

Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $197.97, but opened at $183.42. Federal Agricultural Mortgage shares last traded at $181.8130, with a volume of 3,932 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AGM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Federal Agricultural Mortgage currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $255.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $211.65 and a 200-day moving average of $189.59.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The credit services provider reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.20 by ($0.38). Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 28.88%. The firm had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.29 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation will post 20.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage's payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Institutional Trading of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the third quarter worth about $1,838,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.6% in the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 19,110 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 80.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 9.9% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,028 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. 68.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, known as Farmer Mac, operates a secondary market that helps provide liquidity to lenders serving U.S. agriculture and rural communities. Established by Congress under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987, the company purchases eligible loans and provides guarantees and other financing solutions to lending institutions.

Farmer Mac's offerings support loans for farms and ranches, rural utilities and infrastructure, and other eligible rural borrowers.

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