Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.1111.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NLY. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JonesTrading lifted their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BTIG Research upgraded Annaly Capital Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $23.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $24.00 price target on Annaly Capital Management and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.8%

NLY stock opened at $21.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a PE ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.24. Annaly Capital Management has a fifty-two week low of $16.59 and a fifty-two week high of $24.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 28,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.12, for a total value of $652,562.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 204,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,727,831.92. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,005,094.34. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock worth $1,639,995. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NLY. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 29,978 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 17.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 541,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,003,000 after buying an additional 80,481 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 20.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,318,000 after buying an additional 2,607,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

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.