AGNC Investment Corp.'s (NASDAQ:AGNC) market cap dropped US$406m last week; individual investors who hold 57% were hit as were institutions

Key Insights

• Significant control over AGNC Investment by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 31% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Recent purchases by insiders

If you want to know who really controls AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 57% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While the holdings of retail investors took a hit after last week’s 7.5% price drop, institutions with their 42% holdings also suffered.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of AGNC Investment, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for AGNC Investment

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AGNC Investment?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that AGNC Investment does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of AGNC Investment, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in AGNC Investment. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.4% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 5.4% of common stock, and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. holds about 2.5% of the company stock.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of AGNC Investment

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of AGNC Investment Corp.. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own US$42m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 57% of AGNC Investment. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - AGNC Investment has 3 warning signs (and 2 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.