WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal
Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac, NYSE: AGM and AGM.A)
announced today that it has increased the quarterly dividend paid
on Farmer Mac's common stock by 14 percent from the previous
quarter. Farmer Mac's board of directors has declared a first
quarter dividend of $0.16 per share
on each of Farmer Mac's three classes of common stock – Class A
Voting Common Stock (NYSE: AGM.A), Class B Voting Common Stock (not
listed on any exchange), and Class C Non-Voting Common Stock (NYSE:
AGM). The quarterly dividend of $0.16 will be payable on March 31, 2015 to holders of record of common
stock as of March 16, 2015.
Farmer Mac's board of directors has also declared a dividend on
each of Farmer Mac's three classes of preferred stock – Series A
Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock (NYSE: AGM.PR.A), Series B
Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock (NYSE: AGM.PR.B), and Series C
Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock (NYSE:
AGM.PR.C). The quarterly dividend of $0.3672 per share of Series A Non-Cumulative
Preferred Stock, $0.4297 per share of
Series B Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, and $0.375 per share of Series C Fixed-to-Floating
Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock is for the period from but not
including January 17, 2015 to and
including April 17, 2015, and shall
be payable on April 17, 2015 to
holders of record of preferred stock as of April 2, 2015. Each share of Series A
Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series B Non-Cumulative Preferred
Stock, and Series C Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred
Stock has a par value and liquidation preference of $25.00 per share.
Farmer Mac's President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Buzby stated, "Today's increase in common
stock dividends marks the fourth straight year of dividend
increases and is consistent with our goal of delivering a steadily
growing, sustainable dividend for our stockholders over the
long-term. Farmer Mac had another great year in 2014 and we
look forward to continuing to increase stockholder value in the
future while fulfilling our mission of delivering capital and
liquidity to rural America."
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical
information, this release includes forward-looking statements that
reflect management's current expectations as to Farmer Mac's future
financial results, business prospects, and business
developments. Management's expectations for Farmer Mac's
future necessarily involve a number of assumptions and estimates
and the evaluation of risks and uncertainties. Various
factors or events could cause Farmer Mac's actual results to differ
materially from the expectations as expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements, including uncertainties regarding:
- the availability to Farmer Mac and Farmer Mac II LLC of debt
and equity financing and, if available, the reasonableness of rates
and terms;
- legislative or regulatory developments that could affect Farmer
Mac or its sources of business;
- fluctuations in the fair value of assets held by Farmer Mac and
Farmer Mac II LLC;
- the rate and direction of development of the secondary market
for agricultural mortgage and rural utilities loans, including
lender interest in Farmer Mac credit products and the secondary
market provided by Farmer Mac;
- the general rate of growth in agricultural mortgage and rural
utilities indebtedness;
- the impact of economic conditions, including the effects of
drought and other weather-related conditions and fluctuations in
agricultural real estate values, on agricultural mortgage lending
and borrower repayment capacity;
- developments in the financial markets, including possible
investor, analyst, and rating agency reactions to events involving
government-sponsored enterprises, including Farmer Mac;
- changes in the level and direction of interest rates, which
could, among other things, affect the value of collateral securing
Farmer Mac's agricultural mortgage loan assets; and
- volatility in commodity prices relative to costs of production
and/or export demand for U.S. agricultural products.
Other risk factors are discussed in Farmer Mac's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 (filed
with the SEC on March 13, 2014),
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 (filed with the SEC on
May 12, 2014), Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2014 (filed with the SEC on August
11, 2014), and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended September 30, 2014, (filed with
the SEC on November 10,
2014). In light of these potential risks and
uncertainties, no undue reliance should be placed on any
forward-looking statements expressed in this
release. The forward-looking statements contained in
this release represent management's expectations as of the date of
this release. Farmer Mac undertakes no obligation to release
publicly the results of revisions to any forward-looking statements
included in this release to reflect new information or any future
events or circumstances, except as the SEC otherwise requires.
About Farmer Mac
Farmer Mac is the stockholder-owned
company created to deliver capital and increase lender competition
for the benefit of American agriculture and rural
communities. Additional information about Farmer Mac is
available on Farmer Mac's website at www.farmermac.com.
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SOURCE Farmer Mac