Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $174.04, but opened at $161.73. Federal Agricultural Mortgage shares last traded at $157.8760, with a volume of 15,020 shares trading hands.

The credit services provider reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $101.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.45 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 18.20%.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AGM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $219.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGM. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 5.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,469 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 21,683 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 54.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $174.03 and a 200-day moving average of $175.89. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: AGM), commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Farmer Mac was established to enhance the availability of mortgage credit for the agricultural and rural utility sectors. The corporation operates as a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural infrastructure loans, providing lenders with liquidity and risk management solutions.

The company’s principal business activities include purchasing and securitizing long-term fixed-rate agricultural mortgage loans and rural utilities loans originated by approved lenders.