Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s (AGM) “Hold (C)” Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings restated their hold (c) rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) in a report issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $215.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE AGM opened at $162.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.18 and its 200 day moving average is $182.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 12 month low of $155.00 and a 12 month high of $217.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.95.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The credit services provider reported $4.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.03. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company had revenue of $100.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.54 million. Research analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, insider Gregory Ramsey sold 1,500 shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.71, for a total value of $310,065.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $637,700.35. The trade was a 32.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bradford T. Nordholm sold 4,224 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.12, for a total value of $870,650.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 32,770 shares in the company, valued at $6,754,552.40. The trade was a 11.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,017 shares of company stock valued at $1,240,807 in the last quarter. 2.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after buying an additional 3,420 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 2,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 205.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 318 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company’s Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.