AGNC Investment Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 61,469 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the typical daily volume of 37,568 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AGNC shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.41.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

AGNC Investment stock opened at $11.70 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. AGNC Investment has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $11.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.74 and its 200-day moving average is $10.15.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $466.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is presently 214.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AGNC Investment news, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 45,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.27, for a total value 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 $15,994,508.27. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 59.0% during the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 181,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,668,000 after buying an additional 67,355 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter worth about $325,000. Delphi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter worth about $574,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,170,000. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

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.