AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 370,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $3,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,918 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC grew its position in AGNC Investment by 78.6% during the third quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

AGNC Investment stock opened at $11.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 1.37. AGNC Investment Corp. has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $12.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 47.40% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.75 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.1%. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is 102.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total value of $8,337,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,189,091 shares in the company, valued at $26,072,073.81. The trade was a 24.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total value of $605,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 552,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,688,316.67. This represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 775,000 shares of company stock worth $9,246,000 in the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.03.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

AGNC Investment Corp. is a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily acquires and manages a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The company employs a leveraged total return strategy, borrowing against its securities to enhance income potential while using interest rate hedges to manage risk. AGNC’s investment objective is to generate attractive monthly dividends and long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, AGNC focuses exclusively on U.S.