Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Stock Price Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• AGM shares broke above the 200-day moving average, trading near $208.00 versus the $195.30 average, though they remained below the 50-day average of $223.55.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold”, with a $255 average price target; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $255 and maintained an “outperform” rating.
• Federal Agricultural Mortgage exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $5.40 in EPS versus $4.87 expected, and pays a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, representing a 3.1% annualized yield.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $195.30 and traded as high as $208.88. Federal Agricultural Mortgage shares last traded at $208.00, with a volume of 125,162 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a report on Friday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $255.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $223.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.87 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $125.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.51 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 18.90%. On average, research analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation will post 20.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the second quarter worth $42,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 3,862.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 317 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 2nd quarter worth about $93,000. 68.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a federally chartered, shareholder-owned company that provides a secondary market for agricultural and rural credit. Established by Congress in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987, Farmer Mac is designed to improve the availability and affordability of financing for America's agricultural and rural communities.

The company supports agricultural lenders by purchasing eligible loans and providing guarantees and other forms of credit enhancement.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.