Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires 16,700 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 16,700 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $2,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 209.9% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 31.8% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 68.1% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:NLY opened at $20.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.43 and a 200-day moving average of $19.73. The company has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.52. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $21.11.

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 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 expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.42%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently 163.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.