Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on NLY. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $24.00 target price on Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.33.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NYSE NLY opened at $22.66 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.39. Annaly Capital Management has a one year low of $20.00 and a one year high of $24.52. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.16.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.04. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 43.66%.The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.2%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 14,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,513 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 2.3% in the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. GWN Securities Inc. now owns 10,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

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.