StockNews.com Upgrades AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) to “Hold”

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

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $10.25 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Maxim Group downgraded AGNC Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.50 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.13.

AGNC Investment Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:AGNC opened at $10.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. AGNC Investment has a 52 week low of $6.81 and a 52 week high of $10.85.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $695.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AGNC Investment will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 298,182 shares in the company, valued at $3,002,692.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AGNC Investment

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in AGNC Investment by 75.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in AGNC Investment during the first quarter worth approximately $53,000. 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).