Wiregrass Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Wiregrass Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 88,794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $891,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AGNC. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 286.3% during the 1st quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 2,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in AGNC Investment by 100.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 1.3%

AGNC stock opened at $10.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.82. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 12-month low of $9.11 and a 12-month high of $12.19. The firm has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.31.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 57.94% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $305.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.79%.

AGNC Investment News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AGNC Investment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AGNC posted Q2 EPS of $0.40, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 and improving from $0.38 a year ago; the company also reported stronger return on equity and book value trends. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s earnings call and presentation emphasized strong returns and portfolio growth, which may support the view that AGNC is executing well operationally despite a tougher rate environment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage focused on AGNC as a high-yield dividend stock, reinforcing investor interest in the REIT’s income stream rather than a major new catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, the stock fell as revenue missed expectations and investors reacted to higher funding costs and rising prepayments, both of which can pressure mortgage REIT profitability. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AGNC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price target (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Compass Point lowered AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.33.

Insider Activity

In other AGNC Investment news, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,039,957.38. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total value of $713,684.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,927,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,352,079.64. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 215,234 shares of company stock worth $2,364,022. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AGNC Investment 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.