AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Lifted to “Overweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $12.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $10.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AGNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. They set a buy rating and a $10.50 target price for the company. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.25 to $11.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Maxim Group lowered AGNC Investment from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AGNC Investment from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $10.33.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AGNC opened at $10.49 on Friday. AGNC Investment has a 1-year low of $6.81 and a 1-year high of $10.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.47.

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

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.24%.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.07, for a total value of $50,350.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 298,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,002,692.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in AGNC Investment by 5.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 6.7% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its position in AGNC Investment by 8.1% in the first quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 4.9% during the second quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 26,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 52.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.28% of the company’s stock.

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).