Annaly Capital Management Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NLY)

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 79,564 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,111% compared to the typical volume of 6,571 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Creative Planning raised its position in Annaly Capital Management by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,506 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 4,335 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 114,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,291,000 after acquiring an additional 3,864 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 346,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,960,000 after buying an additional 42,700 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 58,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 44.9% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 71,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,430,000 after buying an additional 22,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NLY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays began coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 0.7 %

NLY opened at $21.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.85. Annaly Capital Management has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $22.05. The firm has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.52.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 163.52%.

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.