Short Interest in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) Declines By 40.1%

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 11,987,882 shares, a drop of 40.1% from the December 31st total of 20,015,708 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,371,170 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,371,170 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 3.6%

NYSE:NLY traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,415,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,460,951. The company has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 1.25. Annaly Capital Management has a fifty-two week low of $16.59 and a fifty-two week high of $24.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.03 and a 200-day moving average of $21.71.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 34.02%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.67 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NLY has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays set a $24.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jones Trading upped their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 7.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,371,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,926,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,535,000 after acquiring an additional 949,260 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $130,626,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,604,380 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $133,475,000 after purchasing an additional 70,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

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.