StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Sidoti downgraded shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $139.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a report on Monday, January 23rd.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

Shares of AGM stock opened at $126.14 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.85. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $149.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.02.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. This is a positive change from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 15th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.63%.

Insider Activity at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, Director Charles A. Stones sold 344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.54, for a total transaction of $50,065.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,924.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 213.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 42,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,163,000 after acquiring an additional 29,038 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 4th quarter worth about $2,772,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 329,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,119,000 after buying an additional 23,607 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 96,279 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,930,000 after buying an additional 20,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 241,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,250,000 after buying an additional 16,706 shares during the last quarter. 66.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. is a stockholder-owned, federally chartered corporation. engages in the provision of a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural housing mortgage loans, rural utilities loans, and loans guaranteed by the United States Department of Agriculture. It combines private capital and public sponsorship to serve a public purpose.