Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Hits New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $24.52 and last traded at $24.4060, with a volume of 1045787 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.36.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $567.67 million. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 34.02%.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.2%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.72%.

Key Headlines Impacting Annaly Capital Management

Here are the key news stories impacting Annaly Capital Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and higher target from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods — KBW raised its price target to $25.00 and assigned an “outperform” rating, signaling analyst confidence and ~9% upside from the referenced price. KBW price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Jones Trading bullish stance — Jones Trading issued a positive forecast and separately raised its price target to $25.00 with a “buy” rating, reinforcing sell-side momentum behind the name. Jones Trading positive forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Annaly reported Q4 EPS of $0.74 vs. consensus $0.72 and revenue well above estimates; management highlighted tighter spreads, higher servicing income and asset growth. These results improve near-term cash generation and support the dividend coverage story. Q4 earnings and call
• Positive Sentiment: Book value improved year-over-year — Coverage notes book value rose to $20.21, reflecting asset/yield tailwinds that underpin NAV and dividend sustainability for the REIT. Zacks: Book value improvement
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/coverage pieces and deep dives — Several write-ups (Yahoo Finance deep dive, Seeking Alpha slides and transcript) provide detailed takeaways on portfolio mix, multi-segment growth and valuation after recent share gains; useful for investors doing a fundamentals review but not immediate catalysts. Yahoo Finance deep dive
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction / profit-taking pressure — Despite positive results and multiple upgrades, intraday volume ran well above average, suggesting short-term profit-taking after recent share-price appreciation; that selling pressure appears to be the main driver of today’s weaker price action.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday. Barclays set a $24.00 price target on Annaly Capital Management and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $23.25 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,701,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,104,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,867 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 73.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 270,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,680,000 after buying an additional 114,946 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the second quarter worth about $429,000. Dupree Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 49.2% during the third quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 470,508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,509,000 after buying an additional 155,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 7.2% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,083,953 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $76,860,000 after acquiring an additional 275,186 shares during the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 4.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a P/E/G ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.71.

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.