Nicholas Investment Partners LP Sells 181,284 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP reduced its position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 56.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,135 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 181,284 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $2,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 53,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC lifted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 41,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. LVZ Inc. lifted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 19,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NLY opened at $19.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.25. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.60 and a 1-year high of $22.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.76.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $186.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $418.04 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 14.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.31%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 314.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NLY shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $21.50 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.15 to $20.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.10.

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.