Annaly Capital Management Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NLY)

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 36,494 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 92% compared to the typical volume of 19,043 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NLY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.25 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Argus raised shares of Annaly Capital Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $23.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 26,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.83, for a total transaction of $604,789.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 178,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,063,740. This represents a 12.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total value of $382,643.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,005,094.34. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NLY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $162,477,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,374,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,623,000 after acquiring an additional 4,286,893 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,613,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,422,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,564 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,699,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,784 shares during the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NLY stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $22.68. The stock had a trading volume of 4,615,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,252,917. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 1.24. Annaly Capital Management has a 12 month low of $16.59 and a 12 month high of $24.52.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.67 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.72%.

Annaly Capital Management Company Profile

Annaly Capital Management, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in generating income through investment in mortgage-related assets. The company’s core business activities include the acquisition, financing, and management of a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and other real estate debt instruments. Annaly seeks to profit from the spread between the interest earned on its mortgage investments and its cost of funds, as well as from capital gains realized through active portfolio management.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Annaly has grown to become one of the largest mortgage REITs in the United States.