AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $10.50 to $11.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AGNC Investment traded as high as $10.68 and last traded at $10.6930, with a volume of 2237120 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.57.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $9.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In related news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 45,798 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.27, for a total transaction of $470,345.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,557,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,994,508.27. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 59.0% in the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 181,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after buying an additional 67,355 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 78.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 3,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $325,000. Delphi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth approximately $574,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the second quarter worth about $6,170,000. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 0.9%

The stock has a market cap of $11.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 18.84%. The firm had revenue of $836.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.5%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 214.93%.

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.