AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of AGNC Investment to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

AGNC stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.53. 21,373,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,825,947. AGNC Investment has a twelve month low of $8.92 and a twelve month high of $10.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.91.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a net margin of 29.26% and a return on equity of 21.92%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 75,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $130,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,737,149.04. This trade represents a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 112.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in AGNC Investment by 315.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

About AGNC Investment

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).