Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Short Interest Update

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 11,250,000 shares, a decline of 22.6% from the February 13th total of 14,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued 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 eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 53,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 41,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. LVZ Inc. lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 19,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NLY traded up $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,681,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,547,546. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.96. The company has a market capitalization of $12.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. Annaly Capital Management has a fifty-two week low of $17.67 and a fifty-two week high of $22.11.

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

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.80%. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s 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.