Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 506,210 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 30.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,160,279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 506,210 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Annaly Capital Management worth $23,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NLY. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 92,039 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after buying an additional 12,809 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 11.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the third quarter worth about $114,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the third quarter worth about $879,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $19.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.81. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.67 and a fifty-two week high of $21.11. The firm has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -273.43 and a beta of 1.51.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.58%. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently -3,714.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on NLY shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Annaly Capital Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

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.