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

Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.29.

NLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.15 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NLY. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,426,571 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $630,007,000 after acquiring an additional 8,272,674 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $127,397,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,721,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,001,407,000 after buying an additional 5,859,104 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Annaly Capital Management by 238.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,198,020 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,664,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,587,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $138,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606,366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 1.5 %

Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $17.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.97. Annaly Capital Management has a 52-week low of $17.67 and a 52-week high of $22.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 176.10%.

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.