Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) Short Interest Up 7.5% in November

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) saw a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 167,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the October 31st total of 155,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 45,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, Director Sara Louise Faivre-Davis sold 685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $126,416.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $595,173.75. This trade represents a 17.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.00, for a total value of $208,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,060 shares in the company, valued at $2,924,480. The trade was a 6.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,467 shares of company stock valued at $1,455,622. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the third quarter valued at $175,610,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 25.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 178,008 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,187,000 after purchasing an additional 36,380 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 319,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $59,911,000 after purchasing an additional 29,917 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the third quarter worth approximately $3,949,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 226,983 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $42,539,000 after purchasing an additional 20,603 shares in the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

NYSE AGM opened at $212.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a twelve month low of $165.50 and a twelve month high of $217.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.70.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.14 by ($0.04). Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 20.14%. The company had revenue of $411.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company’s Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.