AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Cut to Neutral at Compass Point

Compass Point lowered shares of AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $11.50 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.50 price target (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AGNC Investment presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.33.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

AGNC Investment stock opened at $11.22 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.82. AGNC Investment has a one year low of $9.11 and a one year high of $12.19. The firm has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.31.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of ($114.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $411.57 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 39.50%. Sell-side analysts expect that AGNC Investment will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.8%. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is 119.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, Director Donna Blank sold 22,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $237,160.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,039,957.38. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Federico sold 64,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.08, for a total value of $713,684.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,927,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,352,079.64. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 215,234 shares of company stock valued at $2,364,022. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 286.3% during the first quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 2,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 100.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.