mREIT News: American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC)’s Performance, Two Harbors Investment Corp (TWO)’s Downgraded Shares & American Capital Ltd. (ACAS)

Editor’s Note: Related tickers: American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC), Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO), American Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS), Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Mortgage REITs Worry About Fannie and Freddie — With Good Reason (Fool)
The movement to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is gaining momentum, with legislation wending its way through Congress, and President Obama recently throwing his support behind the whole concept. Without the federal backing the two government-sponsored entities currently provide for home loans, the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage may fade away right along with Fannie and Freddie. What does that mean for mortgage REITs, many of which invest in the type of mortgage-backed securities that feature those very loans? That is uncertain, but companies like Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY), American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC), and Armour Residential (NYSE: ARR ), all of which concentrate their holdings in agency-backed paper, have cause to be concerned.

American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Two Harbors Investment Corp. Sets New 1-Year Low at $9.30 (TWO) (Zolmax)
Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday, Stock Ratings Network.com reports. The company traded as low as $9.30 and last traded at $9.44, with a volume of 4,701,071 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.62. A number of research firms have recently commented on Two Harbors Investment Corp. Analysts at Zacks downgraded shares of Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO) from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note to investors on Monday. They now have a $9.30 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Deutsche Bank cut their price target on shares of Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO) from $12.00 to $11.50 in a research note to investors on Friday, August 9th. Finally, analysts at Barclays Capital cut their price target on shares of TWO from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note to investors on Friday, August 9th.

REIT Residential Stocks on the Move (SBWire)
Value Penny Stocks issues special report on: …American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) moved -2.37 percent lower at $21.82 and traded between $21.78 and $22.34 after opening the day at $22.31. Its performance over the last five days remained -5.58%, which stands at -1.56% for a month. Going back further than one month, 1-year performance after recent close was -24.5%.
American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company earns income primarily from investing on a leveraged basis in agency mortgage-backed securities. Why Should Investors Buy American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) After the Recent Fall?

Stocks In Negative Territory: Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK), Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO) (NisMagazine)
Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK) fell 2.69% at $5.07 after trading 8.91 million shares. The stock has been downgraded today by Stifel Nicolaus from Buy to a Hold rating. …Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO) fell 2.23% at $9.25 after trading 7.15 million shares. The company is a REIT that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities, residential mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and other financial assets. It is managed by Pine River Capital Management LP and proposes to issue for the first time home loan securities of $400.7 million without government backing. On the technical charts the stock has been rather bearish and has plunged through the 50-week moving average.

Movers to Watch (Techsonian)
LeadingStockAlerts is a financial marketing firm that specializes in assisting the underserved small cap and micro-cap stock community. Out Today’s Focus is on: American Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS),…American Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS) opened its shares at the price of $13.14 for the day. Its closing price was $13.04 after losing -0.61% for the day. The company traded with the total volume of 2.69 million shares, while its average trading volume remained 2.76 million shares. The beta of American Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS) stands at2.28. American Capital, Ltd. (American Capital) is an equity firm and global asset manager. American Capital invests in private equity, private debt, private real estate securities and other investments. Has ACAS Found The Bottom And Ready To Gain Momentum?