AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 51,650,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the March 15th total of 48,710,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 11,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

AGNC opened at $9.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 904.00 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.25. AGNC Investment has a 1-year low of $6.81 and a 1-year high of $10.64.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $640.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.42 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 28.02% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a apr 24 dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14,400.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AGNC. Barclays raised their price target on AGNC Investment from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Compass Point assumed coverage on AGNC Investment in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.25 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Jonestrading began coverage on AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.75 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at AGNC Investment

In related news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.85, for a total value of $98,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 287,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,829,727.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 46,983 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 15,758 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in AGNC Investment by 68.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 29,371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 11,982 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the first quarter worth about $137,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 5.2% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 36,096 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 2.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 517,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,757,000 after acquiring an additional 11,711 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).