Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) Price Target to $215.00

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) had its price objective trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $219.00 to $215.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Up 0.9%

AGM stock opened at $159.78 on Monday. Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a 52 week low of $146.69 and a 52 week high of $210.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The credit services provider reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.50 by ($0.84). Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $101.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.45 million. On average, analysts forecast that Federal Agricultural Mortgage will post 17.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio is 36.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Agricultural Mortgage

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGM. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,469 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 21,683 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,066,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 2,694 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the first quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: AGM), commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Farmer Mac was established to enhance the availability of mortgage credit for the agricultural and rural utility sectors. The corporation operates as a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural infrastructure loans, providing lenders with liquidity and risk management solutions.

The company’s principal business activities include purchasing and securitizing long-term fixed-rate agricultural mortgage loans and rural utilities loans originated by approved lenders.