AGNC Investment Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 41,830 put options on the company. This is an increase of 18% compared to the typical daily volume of 35,425 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AGNC shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.79.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of AGNC opened at $9.37 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.20 and its 200-day moving average is $9.43. AGNC Investment has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $10.85. The firm has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $830.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.37 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 19.63%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a jul 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 15.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 360.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In related news, Director Donna Blank sold 17,218 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.67, for a total value of $149,280.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 90,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,291.15. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth L. Pollack sold 17,500 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.03, for a total transaction of $158,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 447,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,044,004.23. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,384 shares of company stock valued at $1,228,039. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $639,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 54,049 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 408,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,758,000 after buying an additional 37,150 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 33,398 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 19,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 2,465 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

AGNC Investment Corp., formerly American Capital Agency Corp., is a real estate investment trust. The Company invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. Its investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by the United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs).