Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $174.04, but opened at $161.73. Federal Agricultural Mortgage shares last traded at $157.8760, with a volume of 15,020 shares trading hands.

The credit services provider reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.84). Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 18.63%. The company had revenue of $101.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.45 million.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This is a boost from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is currently 34.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AGM shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $219.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 26,616 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,673,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,877 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 1,338 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

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.