Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in AGNC Investment indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 30% ownership
• Institutions own 40% of AGNC Investment

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. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 59% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 40% of the company’s shareholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.

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

View our latest analysis for AGNC Investment

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AGNC Investment?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in AGNC Investment. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in AGNC Investment. Our data shows that The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 8.2% of shares outstanding. With 4.6% and 1.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and Vaughan Nelson Investment Management, L.P. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of AGNC Investment Corp. in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$58m 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 59% of AGNC Investment. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand AGNC Investment better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with AGNC Investment (at least 2 which are a bit unpleasant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.