Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 165,500 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the July 15th total of 153,700 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 53,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the second quarter worth $36,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 194.2% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 304.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 160.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. 68.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AGM traded up $2.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $186.16. 19,260 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,986. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 1 year low of $140.44 and a 1 year high of $217.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $187.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.52.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The credit services provider reported $3.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.46). Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 13.79% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $406.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.77 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 16.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is 34.15%.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company's Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.