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

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 34,596 put options on the company. This is an increase of 31% compared to the typical volume of 26,329 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AGNC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jonestrading reduced their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.88.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $9.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.47. AGNC Investment has a fifty-two week low of $6.81 and a fifty-two week high of $10.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.63.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $642.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.38 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 32.12% and a return on equity of 27.14%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AGNC Investment will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a jun 24 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 14.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.35, for a total value of $46,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 75,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,345.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.35, for a total transaction of $46,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,545 shares in the company, valued at $706,345.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 5,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 111,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,051,173.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $149,030. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 100,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 4,116 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 185,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 94,332 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $432,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 930,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,781,000 after acquiring an additional 251,847 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 102,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 36,396 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

About AGNC Investment

AGNC Investment Corp., formerly American Capital Agency Corp., is a real estate investment trust. The Company invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. Its investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by the United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs).