AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Overweight”

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a buy rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded AGNC Investment from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Maxim Group lowered AGNC Investment from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $10.33.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of AGNC stock opened at $10.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.47. AGNC Investment has a 1 year low of $6.81 and a 1 year high of $10.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.83.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. AGNC Investment’s quarterly revenue was up 52.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AGNC Investment will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.97, for a total transaction of $49,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 308,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,072,574.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGNC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AGNC Investment in the second quarter valued at approximately $365,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment in the second quarter worth $165,000. Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 117,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 29,339 shares during the period. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at $368,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 330,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after buying an additional 6,070 shares in the last quarter. 38.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).