GraniteShares Advisors LLC Invests $2.47 Million in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 134,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,469,000. Annaly Capital Management makes up about 1.6% of GraniteShares Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NLY. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Annaly Capital Management by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 275,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,043,000 after acquiring an additional 132,891 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at $527,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at $327,000. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NLY. Argus upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays began coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities restated 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NYSE:NLY opened at $21.67 on Wednesday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $21.88. The firm has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.82.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is 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.