Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY)

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 28,505 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 55% compared to the typical volume of 18,344 call options.

Insider Activity at Annaly Capital Management

In other news, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 26,491 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 178,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,063,740. This represents a 12.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Global Investments grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 332.3% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 59,797 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 45,966 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 523,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,947,000 after purchasing an additional 60,814 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 159,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,216,000 after purchasing an additional 88,341 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 73.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 270,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,680,000 after purchasing an additional 114,946 shares during the period. Finally, Dupree Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 470,508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,509,000 after purchasing an additional 155,061 shares during the period. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY stock opened at $22.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.24. Annaly Capital Management has a fifty-two week low of $17.39 and a fifty-two week high of $24.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a PEG ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $24.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.89.

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.