Short Interest in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Decreases By 22.6%

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 11,250,000 shares, a drop of 22.6% from the February 13th total of 14,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock traded up $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $21.93. 5,621,516 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,197,016. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.99. Annaly Capital Management has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $22.11. The company has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.77%. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is 176.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NLY. Barclays began coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 971,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,505,000 after buying an additional 40,781 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 213.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 56,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 38,361 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the third quarter worth $239,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 6.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 17,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 15.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 48,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 6,469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

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.