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

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.14.

NLY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Compass Point increased their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Transactions at Annaly Capital Management

In related news, CEO David L. Finkelstein sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.05, for a total value of $1,002,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 612,469 shares in the company, valued at $12,280,003.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 21.4% in the first quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 20.6% in the second quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 6.0% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,937 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Family Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Family Asset Management LLC now owns 22,961 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 3.0% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 20,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

NYSE NLY opened at $20.11 on Tuesday. Annaly Capital Management has a 1 year low of $14.52 and a 1 year high of $21.07. The company has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of -20.73 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.50.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. Annaly Capital Management had a negative net margin of 12.02% and a positive return on equity of 15.24%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $318.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.93%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -268.04%.

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.