Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $196.09, but opened at $204.63. Federal Agricultural Mortgage shares last traded at $208.4280, with a volume of 7,930 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AGM. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $215.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average is $186.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.37.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.30. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 20.78% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $109.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.76 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation will post 19.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGM. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 640.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

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.