Tredje AP fonden Trims Stock Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Tredje AP fonden cut its holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 39,313 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 971,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,505,000 after purchasing an additional 40,781 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 7.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,002,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,200,000 after buying an additional 138,320 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 213.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 56,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 38,361 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the third quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $239,000. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY stock opened at $21.63 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.67 and a fifty-two week high of $22.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 14.95%. Equities analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.94%. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 163.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

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.