Investors Buy High Volume of AGNC Investment Call Options (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 56,420 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 71% compared to the typical daily volume of 33,063 call options.

AGNC Investment Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AGNC opened at $10.06 on Friday. AGNC Investment has a 12-month low of $7.85 and a 12-month high of $10.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.36.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $830.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.37 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 19.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1,471.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 423.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $9.50 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $9.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.61, for a total value of $105,710.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 128,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,234,990.71. This trade represents a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John D. Fisk sold 20,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $195,682.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 112,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,087,410.25. The trade was a 15.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 54,049 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 1,315.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 27,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,896,000 after buying an additional 25,784 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in AGNC Investment by 6.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 777,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,446,000 after buying an additional 47,699 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter valued at $130,000. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AGNC Investment in the 1st quarter valued at $179,000. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AGNC Investment

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).