Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $228.00 to $255.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Federal Agricultural Mortgage traded as high as $244.16 and last traded at $244.31, with a volume of 16675 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $220.30.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.00.

Institutional Trading of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 436,786 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $76,686,000 after acquiring an additional 16,107 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 358,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $63,013,000 after purchasing an additional 46,262 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 351,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,123,000 after purchasing an additional 39,702 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 345,551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $60,191,000 after buying an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 262,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,163,000 after buying an additional 80,911 shares during the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Up 6.3%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $193.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.98.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 29.98%. Research analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation will post 20 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: AGM), commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Farmer Mac was established to enhance the availability of mortgage credit for the agricultural and rural utility sectors. The corporation operates as a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural infrastructure loans, providing lenders with liquidity and risk management solutions.

The company’s principal business activities include purchasing and securitizing long-term fixed-rate agricultural mortgage loans and rural utilities loans originated by approved lenders.