KBC Group NV Cuts Stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,533,922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 433,801 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $30,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 27.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 169,043 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,303,000 after buying an additional 36,269 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 4.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 420,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,040,000 after buying an additional 17,045 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 20.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 279,239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,498,000 after buying an additional 46,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,941,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NLY has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. 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. dropped their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.33.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NLY opened at $19.59 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.23 and a 1 year high of $21.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.83.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently -3,714.29%.

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.