Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a market perform rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and set a $21.50 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Jonestrading reissued a buy rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a buy rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued a buy rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.07.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

NYSE NLY opened at $18.95 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.40. Annaly Capital Management has a 12 month low of $14.52 and a 12 month high of $21.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.54 and a beta of 1.54.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.00 million. Annaly Capital Management had a negative net margin of 8.38% and a positive return on equity of 15.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.72%. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is currently -268.04%.

Institutional Trading of Annaly Capital Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NLY. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,244,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 159.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,118,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,762,652 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 195.9% during the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 4,034,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $87,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671,236 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,300,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $954,941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 1,505.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,676,931 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

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.