208,300 Shares in Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 208,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,406,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $162,477,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,374,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,623,000 after acquiring an additional 4,286,893 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,613,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,422,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024,564 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth $63,699,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,784 shares during the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NLY opened at $22.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 1.17. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a 12-month low of $18.64 and a 12-month high of $24.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.45.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $341.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $595.27 million. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 34.33%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management Inc will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.1%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is 94.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $22.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Annaly Capital Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JonesTrading reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.11.

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.