Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 50,171 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 99% compared to the typical daily volume of 25,150 call options.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $10.55 on Tuesday. AGNC Investment has a 52-week low of $6.81 and a 52-week high of $10.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.01). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 26.21% and a net margin of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $695.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AGNC Investment will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a aug 24 dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 14.5%. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.50 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Maxim Group lowered AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.13.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.97, for a total value of $49,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 308,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,072,574.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,735,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $650,781,000 after buying an additional 2,368,658 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 0.4% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,048,520 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $76,783,000 after purchasing an additional 32,813 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 7,380,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,404,000 after purchasing an additional 79,316 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 7,124,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,967,000 after purchasing an additional 253,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth $69,215,000. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).