Almitas Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 115,765 Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY

Almitas Capital LLC acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 115,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,309 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 41.6% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 1.4% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 39,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 3.4% in the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 5.3% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.7%

NLY opened at $21.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86, a PEG ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 1.24. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a 52-week low of $16.59 and a 52-week high of $24.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.22.

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. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $567.67 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management Inc will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently 100.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.25 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus upgraded Annaly Capital Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Annaly Capital Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.11.

Insider Activity at Annaly Capital Management

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

Annaly Capital Management Profile

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.