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

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 169,176 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 327% compared to the typical daily volume of 39,663 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Red Tortoise LLC grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 377.4% in the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 2,764 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 1,003.0% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,629 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AGNC opened at $11.97 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.25. AGNC Investment has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $12.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $995.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.75 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 47.40%. On average, analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 12.0%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGNC has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. BTIG Research cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Jones Trading downgraded AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.03.

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.