Bell Bank Grows Holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Bell Bank raised its position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 22,776 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $2,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NLY. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 93.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 275,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,043,000 after purchasing an additional 132,891 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 9.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 537,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,780,000 after acquiring an additional 48,555 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 22.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 652,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,091,000 after acquiring an additional 120,163 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter valued at $527,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth about $327,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NLY shares. Argus raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays assumed coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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, Annaly Capital Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NLY opened at $21.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.52. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $21.88.

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, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.02%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.