Business
AGNC Investment Corp. Declares Monthly Common Stock Dividend of $0.12 per Common Share for April 2020 and Provides Company Update
BETHESDA, Md., April 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AGNC Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC) ("AGNC" or the "Company") announced today that its Board of Directors has
About this update from Agnc Investment Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"BETHESDA, Md., April 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AGNC Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC) (\"AGNC\" or the \"Company\") announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.12 per share of common stock for April 2020. The dividend is payable on May 11, 2020 to common stockholders of record as of April 30, 2020. The Company also reaffirmed its intention to continue its practice of reporting monthly estimates of tangible net book value per share of common stock in conjunction with its monthly dividend declarations. \n\"Consistent with the decline in AGNC's book value during the first quarter of 2020 stemming from the financial market dislocations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, AGNC today announced its revised monthly dividend level of $0.12 per common share,\" said Gary Kain, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. \"Importantly, this reduction in AGNC's dividend also provides the Company greater flexibility to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities presented by the current environment and to reinvest earnings in excess of our dividend back into our business over time. The agency mortgage-backed securities (\"Agency MBS\") market has continued to strengthen since quarter end in large part due to the ongoing support from the Federal Reserve. \n\"Looking ahead, we believe AGNC is well-positioned to generate very attractive risk-adjusted returns in the current environment. A significant portion of the decline in our book value during the first quarter was driven by reduced price premiums for higher quality specified pools, which we believe will reverse over time. We expect that disruptions to the housing market and mortgage origination operations related to COVID-19 will cause prepayment speeds for these pools to be materially lower than what might otherwise be expected. We believe that our retention of almost all of these assets through the recent market turmoil will be a meaningful driver of our future returns. In addition, Agency MBS funding markets were fully functional throughout this recent crisis and continue to provide attractive funding opportunities for our portfolio. In light of these factors, we believe Agency MBS assets, which enjoy a guarantee of timely principal and interest payments from the GSEs, provide compelling risk-adjusted returns despite a ve...