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

Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.38.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NLY shares. StockNews.com lowered Annaly Capital Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Compass Point boosted 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 report on Friday, July 26th.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE NLY opened at $20.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of -20.93 and a beta of 1.52. Annaly Capital Management has a 12-month low of $14.52 and a 12-month high of $21.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.71.

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. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.81%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -268.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Annaly Capital Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 222.2% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 107.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

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.