Stableford Capital II LLC Cuts Stock Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Stableford Capital II LLC decreased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 578 shares during the quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,990,064 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $361,061,000 after buying an additional 1,342,056 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,400,024 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $360,296,000 after acquiring an additional 223,294 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,638,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,988,000 after purchasing an additional 241,465 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew 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 worth $95,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,664,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 531.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,981,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,900,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350,435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NLY opened at $20.39 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.67 and a 12 month high of $21.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.70.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 20.70%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 163.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays started coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Argus raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

About Annaly Capital Management

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.