Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 57.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 404,840 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 146,905 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.07% of Annaly Capital Management worth $7,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Algebris UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 831,453 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,695,000 after acquiring an additional 103,401 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 110,115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 18,809 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth $2,740,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NYSE:NLY traded down $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $21.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,369,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,305,912. The firm has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.67 and a 12 month high of $22.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.93 and a 200-day moving average of $20.05.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 176.10%.

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.