AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Trading 0.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) shot up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.58 and last traded at $9.57. 2,944,234 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 14,043,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of AGNC Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 19th. Compass Point lifted their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Maxim Group cut AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.33.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 1.47.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $756.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.50 million. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 42.19% and a return on equity of 23.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a nov 24 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 5.4% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd grew its position in AGNC Investment by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 30,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 8.1% during the first quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

AGNC Investment Company Profile

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).