Annaly Capital Management Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NLY)

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 36,494 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 92% compared to the average daily volume of 19,043 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NLY shares. Barclays set a $24.00 price target on Annaly Capital Management and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JonesTrading upped their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $23.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.11.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of NLY stock opened at $22.51 on Wednesday. Annaly Capital Management has a fifty-two week low of $16.59 and a fifty-two week high of $24.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.20. The company has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 1.24.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $567.67 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 15.80%. On average, research analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Annaly Capital Management

In other news, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 28,225 shares of Annaly Capital Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.12, for a total transaction of $652,562.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 204,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,831.92. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 332.3% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 59,797 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 45,966 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 13.2% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 523,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,947,000 after acquiring an additional 60,814 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 4.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,701,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,104,761,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344,867 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 73.9% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 270,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,680,000 after purchasing an additional 114,946 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the second quarter worth approximately $429,000. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in generating income through investment in mortgage-related assets. The company’s core business activities include the acquisition, financing, and management of a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and other real estate debt instruments. Annaly seeks to profit from the spread between the interest earned on its mortgage investments and its cost of funds, as well as from capital gains realized through active portfolio management.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Annaly has grown to become one of the largest mortgage REITs in the United States.