Icon Advisers Inc. Co. Makes New Investment in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Icon Advisers Inc. Co. bought a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 317,277 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $5,806,000. Annaly Capital Management makes up about 1.3% of Icon Advisers Inc. Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. owned about 0.06% of Annaly Capital Management as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,721,696 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,001,407,000 after purchasing an additional 5,859,104 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,099,719 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $332,665,000 after acquiring an additional 109,655 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,453,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $172,706,000 after acquiring an additional 814,917 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $127,397,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 238.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,198,020 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $95,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,664,098 shares during the period. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 1.5 %

Annaly Capital Management stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.90. 6,901,621 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,947,366. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.60 and a 1-year high of $22.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.52 and a 200 day moving average of $19.84. The company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31.

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 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.65%. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio is 176.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NLY shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.15 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.07.

Annaly Capital Management 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.