AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Shares Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shares traded down 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $10.87 and last traded at $10.90. 23,291,232 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 24% from the average daily volume of 18,807,568 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AGNC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Compass Point cut AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.11.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.63 and its 200-day moving average is $10.81.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $305.00 million for 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is presently 75.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,745,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,047,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,782 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,097,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $312,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,244 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AGNC Investment by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,245,939 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $197,774,000 after buying an additional 1,090,374 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at about $141,830,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,491,585 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,310,000 after buying an additional 1,462,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

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.