Short Interest in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Drops By 22.6%

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 11,250,000 shares, a decline of 22.6% from the February 13th total of 14,540,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 209.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

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Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NLY traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,937,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,209,207. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. Annaly Capital Management has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $22.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.01.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.89%. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is currently 176.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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