Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.1111.

A number of brokerages recently commented on NLY. BTIG Research raised Annaly Capital Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JonesTrading boosted their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NLY opened at $23.25 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management has a fifty-two week low of $16.59 and a fifty-two week high of $24.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.09.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.67 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 15.80%. Sell-side analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.0%. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is 100.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 26,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.83, for a total value of $604,789.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 178,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,063,740. The trade was a 12.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in generating income through investment in mortgage-related assets. The company’s core business activities include the acquisition, financing, and management of a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and other real estate debt instruments. Annaly seeks to profit from the spread between the interest earned on its mortgage investments and its cost of funds, as well as from capital gains realized through active portfolio management.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Annaly has grown to become one of the largest mortgage REITs in the United States.