AXS Investments LLC Decreases Stake in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

AXS Investments LLC reduced its stake in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 242,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 54,529 shares during the quarter. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in AGNC Investment were worth $2,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AGNC Investment during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in AGNC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 38.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AGNC Investment Price Performance

AGNC Investment stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $9.56. The stock had a trading volume of 11,833,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,531,459. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.45. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 1-year low of $6.81 and a 1-year high of $10.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.46.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $642.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.38 million. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 27.14% and a net margin of 32.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a may 24 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. AGNC Investment’s payout ratio is 158.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGNC Investment news, CFO Bernice Bell sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.32, for a total value of $32,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 309,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,888,948.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Paul E. Mullings sold 5,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 111,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,051,173.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.32, for a total value of $32,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 309,973 shares in the company, valued at $2,888,948.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,900 shares of company stock valued at $149,030. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AGNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AGNC Investment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.79.

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).