4 Reasons to Add AGNC Investment (AGNC) Stock to Your Portfolio
Adding the AGNC Investment Corp. AGNC stock to your portfolio seems to be a wise idea now. Supported by strong fundamentals, the company is well-poised for growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGNC’s 2023 earnings has been revised marginally upward over the past 60 days, indicating that analysts are optimistic regarding its earnings growth potential. AGNC currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the stock has risen 5.1% compared with the industry’s growth of 9.5%.
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Let’s delve into the other factors that make AGNC an attractive investment option now.
Active Portfolio-Management Policy: AGNC Investment adheres to an active portfolio-management policy, which includes the re-evaluation and adjustment of its portfolio, as well as hedges amid a varying interest rate and mortgage market environment. The company is operating in a more defensive position with significant hedge protection due to market volatility.
AGNC has repositioned certain credit-focused holdings, trimmed its non-agency portfolio and increased exposure to higher-coupon holdings. Such prudent asset-selection efforts might offer greater stability of cash flows and bode well for long-term growth.
Strong Financial Position: The company enjoys a decent financial position. It has solid access to attractive funding across a broad spectrum of counterparties and financing conditions. As a result, it has flexibility in the opportunistic enhancement of its portfolio. AGNC Investment’s liquidity as of Sep 30, 2023, including cash and unencumbered Agency assets, was $3.6 billion.
Operating at a conservative leverage level, in anticipation of any spread widening, will enable the company to deploy capital in investment opportunities in the upcoming period.
Strong Leverage: AGNC has a debt/equity ratio of 0.01 compared with the industry average of 1.97, indicating that it has a lower debt burden relative to the industry. This highlights the financial stability of the company and is likely to enable it to navigate through periods of economic downturns.
Superior ROE: AGNC Investment’s trailing 12-month return on equity (ROE) reflects its superiority in terms of utilizing shareholders’ funds. The company’s ROE of 28.72% compares favorably with the industry’s 9.26%.
Other Stocks Worth Considering
A couple of other top-ranked stocks from the banking space are ACRES Commercial Realty ACR and BrightSpire Capital BRSP. At present, ACR and BRSP sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACRES Commercial’s 2023 earnings has been unchanged over the past 30 days. Over the past six months, ACR shares have gained 19.1%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BrightSpire’s 2023 earnings has been revised marginally upward in the past 60 days. BRSP shares have gained 15.5% in the past six months.
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AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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