Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.70 Per Share

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a 7.7% increase from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65.

Annaly Capital Management has raised its dividend by an average of 43.5% per year over the last three years. Annaly Capital Management has a payout ratio of 91.2% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect Annaly Capital Management to earn $2.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 93.5%.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,619,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,186,603. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.97. Annaly Capital Management has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $22.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NLY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.