Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 366,391 shares, a decline of 15.0% from the March 31st total of 430,997 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 88,757 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

AGM stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 169,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,197. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $157.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 1 year low of $136.57 and a 1 year high of $210.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.95.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The credit services provider reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.84). Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.73%.The business had revenue of $101.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.45 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 19.41 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AGM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold 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 $215.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 420,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,665,000 after purchasing an additional 43,160 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,063,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 312,646 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,293 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 288,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $48,496,000 after purchasing an additional 25,305 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,446,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: AGM), commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Farmer Mac was established to enhance the availability of mortgage credit for the agricultural and rural utility sectors. The corporation operates as a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural infrastructure loans, providing lenders with liquidity and risk management solutions.

The company’s principal business activities include purchasing and securitizing long-term fixed-rate agricultural mortgage loans and rural utilities loans originated by approved lenders.