Norges Bank Makes New $127.40 Million Investment in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,961,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $127,397,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NLY. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 1.7 %

Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $20.31 on Tuesday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.67 and a 1-year high of $22.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.06. The company has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.79%. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is 176.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.