Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 113,800 Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC

Mount Lucas Management LP lowered its holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 19.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 457,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 113,800 shares during the period. AGNC Investment accounts for 1.8% of Mount Lucas Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $4,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 9.0% during the third quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 30,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 5,179 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,311,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,840,000 after buying an additional 370,525 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in AGNC Investment by 50.3% in the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 6,477 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the third quarter worth $117,000. Institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total transaction of $605,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 552,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,688,316.67. This represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gary D. Kain sold 700,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.91, for a total value of $8,337,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,189,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,072,073.81. The trade was a 24.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 775,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,246,000 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. JonesTrading lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on AGNC Investment from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.03.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $11.31 on Wednesday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $12.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.30 and its 200-day moving average is $10.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.37.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 47.40% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.75 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.7%. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is presently 102.86%.

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.