Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $21.19 and last traded at $21.22, with a volume of 893369 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on NLY shares. Argus upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.43 and its 200 day moving average is $19.73.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued 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 net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 14.95%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 163.52%.

Institutional Trading of Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth about $127,397,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 5,859,104 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 238.9% in 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 buying an additional 3,664,098 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 531.3% in 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 valued at $79,900,000 after buying an additional 3,350,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1,730.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,792,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,105,000 after buying an additional 2,640,032 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

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.