Annaly Capital Management Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NLY)

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 59,400 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 533% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,387 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of 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 raised its position in Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,286,893 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,422,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024,564 shares during 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. boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,784 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NLY. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $22.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Annaly Capital Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JonesTrading reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.11.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of NLY stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $23.14. The company had a trading volume of 13,487,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,773,066. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.17. Annaly Capital Management has a one year low of $18.64 and a one year high of $24.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.45.

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

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.0%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently 101.35%.

Annaly Capital Management Company Profile

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.