Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Sets New 12-Month High at $21.20

Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.20 and last traded at $21.20, with a volume of 58234 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $23.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. 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 target price on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.14.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a PE ratio of -21.45 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.66.

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

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is -268.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David L. Finkelstein sold 50,000 shares of Annaly Capital Management stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 612,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,280,003.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 27.7% in the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.