AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Short Interest Up 6.0% in March

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 51,650,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the March 15th total of 48,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AGNC. Compass Point began coverage on AGNC Investment in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.25 target price for the company. Jonestrading began coverage on AGNC Investment in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.75 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on AGNC Investment from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.93.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:AGNC traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $8.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,664,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,648,103. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.59 and a 200 day moving average of $9.26. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 909.91 and a beta of 1.45. AGNC Investment has a 1 year low of $6.81 and a 1 year high of $10.64.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $640.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.42 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 28.02% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AGNC Investment will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a apr 24 dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14,414.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.85, for a total transaction of $98,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 287,282 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,727.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 128.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).