Korea Investment CORP Acquires 93,400 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 47.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 288,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,400 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $5,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NLY. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 12,952 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 531.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,981,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,900,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,435 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 13.5% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 68,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 8,136 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the third quarter valued at $154,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the third quarter valued at about $2,057,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 1.7 %

NLY stock opened at $20.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.06. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $22.11.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 20.70%. Equities analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.79%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NLY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.44.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc, a diversified capital manager, engages in mortgage finance. The company invests in agency mortgage-backed securities collateralized by residential mortgages; non-agency residential whole loans and securitized products within the residential and commercial markets; mortgage servicing rights; agency commercial mortgage-backed securities; to-be-announced forward contracts; residential mortgage loans; and agency or private label credit risk transfer securities.