Estate Counselors LLC Invests $1.96 Million in AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Estate Counselors LLC purchased a new position in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 195,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 290,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 32,760 shares during the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 15.6% in the first quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 5,663 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 26.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 359,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,604,000 after acquiring an additional 74,226 shares during the period. Sona Asset Management US LLC acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the first quarter valued at $1,003,000. Finally, Everest Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the first quarter worth about $313,000. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 96,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,957.38. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of AGNC opened at $10.64 on Tuesday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a one year low of $9.31 and a one year high of $12.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.61 and its 200-day moving average is $10.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.31.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $305.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 57.94% and a return on equity of 18.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders 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 13.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is 75.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AGNC. Compass Point cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.11.

About AGNC Investment

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.