Short Interest in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) Expands By 9.1%

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 138,400 shares, an increase of 9.1% from the March 31st total of 126,900 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 68,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AGM. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 194.2% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 304.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 464.7% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 288 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Price Performance

NYSE:AGM traded down $2.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $187.51. The stock had a trading volume of 15,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 63,449. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 52 week low of $122.96 and a 52 week high of $199.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.07.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The credit services provider reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.40. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 14.13%. The company had revenue of $354.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.42%.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

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.