Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.44.

NLY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NLY. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $205,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 156.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 12,154 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,506 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 4,335 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 13,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:NLY opened at $21.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.52. Annaly Capital Management has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $21.88.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 163.52%.

Annaly Capital Management Company Profile

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.