AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Price Target Cut to $11.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) had its price target cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $12.00 to $11.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

AGNC has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Compass Point lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 price target (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.22.

AGNC Investment Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $10.72 on Wednesday. AGNC Investment has a 52-week low of $9.31 and a 52-week high of $12.19. The stock has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.82.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 57.94%.The firm had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.4%. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is currently 75.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 96,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,957.38. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total transaction of $713,684.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,927,083 shares in the company, valued at $21,352,079.64. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 215,234 shares of company stock valued at $2,364,022. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 64,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 21,897 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 38.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 6,923 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 16.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,811,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,937,000 after buying an additional 387,524 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 57.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 37,642 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 13,793 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 8.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,494,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,925,000 after buying an additional 203,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AGNC Investment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AGNC’s Q2 results beat earnings expectations, with improved year-over-year book value and higher net interest income, which supports the case for continued dividend coverage and portfolio strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Management said Agency MBS supply-demand conditions are improving and highlighted opportunities to add higher-coupon assets, suggesting better spread and return potential despite rate volatility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AGNC marked its 75th consecutive monthly dividend, reinforcing its appeal for income-focused investors looking for a high-yield monthly payer. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on AGNC’s dividend profile and earnings-call highlights, which may keep income investors interested but do not appear to add materially new information beyond the Q2 release.
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its price target on AGNC to $11 from $12 and kept a “market perform” rating, signaling limited near-term upside. Read More: Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, the stock was pressured by rising funding costs and prepayment concerns, which can weigh on mortgage REIT profitability and book value performance. Article Title

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.